Living With The Avengers: The Wade Initiative
by WayToDawn324
Summary: In the third installment of the Living With The Avengers series, Laynie Stark and Carter Beckett are given their very own mission by Director Fury: Teach Wade Wilson about the world, and how to fit in. But the girls worry, are they the right people for the job?
1. Chapter 1

"Carter, Laynie! Get up!"

Laynie groaned, flipping her pillow over her head as her dad shouted in the hallway.

"Come on guys, we have a meeting with Fury." There was a pause, and then he banged on the door. "We warned you about this last night. You'll eventually learn not to stay up all hours."

"You do it!" Carter shouted at him from her side of the room.

Laynie rolled over and slapped a button on the remote on her nightstand. The glass wall between the rooms changed from black to clear, and Laynie could see her friend clearly. Carter's body was half-hanging off the wall-mounted bed, covered in blankets.

"And we all know he's such a good example," Laynie called.

Carter looked up blearily and stuck her tongue out at her friend.

"Steve and Natasha might actually remove our limbs if we're late," Tony warned. " _Get up_ before I send Pepper in!"

Both girls moved to action. Laynie rolled out of her bed with a groan and Carter slid the rest of the way off. The glass wall darkened again, and the girls dressed quickly.

The purpose of the meeting was rather a mystery. They all expected it to be some sort of follow-up related to the girls' recently completed adoption, but they all silently feared there was some glitch. While Laynie and Carter would give the world to have their parents back, they didn't want to lose their new ones.

"I wonder what Fury wants." Carter mused, standing in front of the open refrigerator.

Laynie groaned, laying her upper body on the countertop. "I dunno. It could be anything with that guy."

Carter bit her lip and set a jug of juice on the counter, staring out the windows across the room.

"Don't worry," Laynie said, straightening up and smiling. "It can't be anything bad."

An hour later, the Avengers, along with Laynie and Carter, filed off a quinjet and onto the helicarrier. Clint anxiously voiced some of the same concerns Carter had.

Tony snorted. "We're still dealing with the repercussions of the last time we came to one of Fury's little meetings."

Laynie punched him in the shoulder. "And you will be until the day you die."

"Game faces, everyone," Steve said sternly. It was his way of saying ' _We're having a discussion with my boss and you better not cost me a job, children_ ' _._

Laynie and Tony continued to poke and prod each other until Bruce purposefully stepped in between them.

A brief elevator ride later, they were greeted by Fury himself in the very same meeting room they'd met in over half a year ago. They all settled in quickly as Fury began to speak.

"Good afternoon." He gave individual nods to the girls, and continued. He stepped to the side and the glass screen behind him was filled with the mug shot-looking pictures of a skinny teenager. He looked half dead, pale and emaciated as he was."Wade Wilson. A.K.A experiment X34-B. Injected in utero with a serum intended to replicate the healing qualities of the Wolverine and the strength of Captain America. This is how we found him over a year ago."

"Please don't tell me you want us to adopt this one too," Clint groaned.

Fury gave a chuckle. "No, Barton. We would prefer you didn't. Wilson was born with intended powers, but developed a form of psychosis as he grew up in this unnamed facility. Classified information. Wilson has been educated to the point of an average tenth grader and trained with the skills of a level two field agent. He is ready for integration into society. This is where you come in.

"Misses Stark and Beckett will be doing most of the hard work. Wilson will be placed in Midtown High alongside you. Agents Barton, Romanoff and Rogers will be in charge of personal training for the boy. Stark, I have a file for you describing your mission. You are all to accept him as a family and teach him how to be normal."

The ragtag family burst into hysterics.

"With all respect," Laynie said through a giggle, "I think that's nearly impossible."

Normal was not, nor would it ever be, a word you could describe a single one of them with. Which is exactly why they were perfect for the job. Fury had a plan.

"Why can't you just get some other superheroes to do this?" Tony groaned. "We already have enough teenagers to deal with."

"Hey!" Carter frowned.

"He doesn't mean it," Laynie said. "How old is Wade?"

"Seventeen. He will be entering the tenth grade alongside you."

"If he's not with us, where is he staying?" Bruce asked.

"With a Ms. May Parker. She believes it's a favor to his parents and that he used to be a friend of her nephew's, who lives with her. They each have their own role in his rehabilitation."

"When do we get to meet him?" Laynie asked, growing excited for her task.

"Right now." Fury pressed a button and a moment later, Maria Hill walked in with an awkward teen in tow.

Wade Wilson was tall and skinny, but even under all his clothes you could tell he was unusually strong. He had short honey brown hair that stuck up in a million directions, a splatter of freckles, and brown eyes that took in everything. He looked nothing like the scared kid in the slide Fury had shown them.

Laynie jumped up and stuck out her hand. With all the formal events she had been attending with her father, she was beginning to drop some of her awkward tenancies and adopt the more polished points of his personality. "My name is Laynie, nice to meet you."

He shook her hand loosely and nodded.

Carter jumped out of her chair and joined Laynie. "Hi! I'm Carter!" She smiled brightly.

Wade nodded to her as well.

"They're nicer to strangers than they are to us," Clint muttered.

"That's because we live with you." Carter said.

"That means you should treat us better, we could kick you out at anytime."

"Now that that's settled, I have another meeting to attend to." Fury swiftly left the room, giving only the briefest of nods to Wade.

"So, Bruce, Steve, Natasha, Clint, Thor's visiting Asgard, and my dad Tony. Avengers, Wade. Wade, Avengers."

He cracked a smile. "I know who you are. You're all they talk about in SHIELD schools."

"SHIELD schools?" Carter asked.

"Yeah, they had to fill me in on things I'll need to be considered a tenth grader. Mostly math and history."

"Since he possesses superhuman abilities, we're training him to use them and giving him knowledge of the other heroes around him. It's his choice on whether or not he becomes a hero, but we would prefer him not to be a villain," Maria said.

"Cool," Laynie said. "Sounds better than Midtown."

Wade shrugged. "It's okay."

Tony prodded his daughter."We have to go, Bruce and I are supposed to do a thing at a science thing today."

"So specific. Maria, is there any way Wade could come over and hang today?"

Maria frowned at the informal way they addressed her. Appearances were important for her, and she didn't want Wade to know she had been friendly to the girls when their parents were agents. "I suppose so. He won't be in school until next week. I don't see a problem with it."

Carter smiled. "Great!"

Bruce and Tony left almost as soon as they had gotten home and Steve was held back for another mission. Natasha and Clint were left to make sure Avengers Tower remained standing while Pepper worked in her office.

Natasha looked to Clint. "This should be interesting."

"Well, he seems calmer than the two of them, so it shouldn't be so bad, right?" Clint asked.

Natasha shrugged. "I suppose so."

Laynie and Carter gave Wade a small tour of the general living area, and then headed up to their apartment.

"So, Wade, tell us about yourself," Carter said as she plopped into her favorite chair.

He ignored the question completely, focusing instead on the impressive entertainment system and extensive game collection Carter had amassed.

"Holy crap!" he exclaimed. "You have all the new systems and everything!"

When Laynie -who had left the room for some snacks- came back, Carter and Wade were in the middle of an intense battle on one of Carter's many video games. They shouted jeers at each other while they played.

"What are you doing?" she questioned.

Carter paused the game and looked up somewhat guiltily.

"Put me in!" She grabbed a controller and sat on the couch right between them.

She had a feeling they would get along pretty well.

After an hour of intense gaming, they wandered into the kitchen to find something to eat. Wade, who was apparently totally comfortable in their home, threw open the fridge and rifled around.

"Hey, we could make some tacos!" Carter suggested.

Laynie gave that an enthusiastic second and began getting out taco shells and a pan to cook the ground beef in.

Wade stood off to the side, looking a little apprehensive. "What is a taco?"

They both stopped dead in their tracks, staring at him with comically wide eyes.

"I've been living off of SHIELD cafeteria food, guys."

"A taco... He doesn't know what a taco... is..." Laynie shook her head vehemently and began cooking the taco meat. "You have a lot to learn my friend."

"Tacos are gifts from heaven. Possibly the greatest food on the planet. Right after ice cream." Carter grinned. "You'll love 'em."

Wade nodded.

"So, are you excited to be going to normal high school? Getting out into the real world?"

He shrugged. "I don't know what to expect. I was stuck in my own brain before SHIELD got me out of there, and then Fury turned me into a lap dog."

"It's nothing to look forward to," Laynie said over the sizzle of meat. "Mean teachers, meaner kids, and a bunch of useless work."

"Not all the teachers are bad. But she is right about the other students, most of them are jerks." Carter said, emptying the fridge of taco toppings.

Laynie dumped the meat onto a plate and began opening a can of beans. "Tony says it's important that we keep going to school so that we don't cause the press to have fits, but really, I think Pepper's making him say that. Okay, taco time!"

The girls soon discovered that not only did Wade have an endless appetite, but that he also loved tacos with a fierce passion. Not even Thor and his love of honeybuns could compete with Wade's instant obsession with tacos.

"I guess you could say it was... Love at first bite!" Laynie said.

Carter groaned, but Wade laughed so hard he almost choked on taco shell.

"Someone around here finally appreciates me," Laynie said, wiping away an imagined tear.

Laynie took care of her plate and Carter's, then pushed the rest of the taco supplies toward Wade.

"I was wondering," Carter began,"who are the people you are living with? The name Parker sounds familiar."

"Eh, just a kid named Peter and his Aunt. Ms. Parker is really nice. Cooks real good, so no complaints."

"Oh, Peter Parker!" Laynie exclaimed. "That's the kid that's doing the photography for yearbook! He's really nice, but I can never get him to talk to me. He's always rushing around. Isn't he a senior?"

"That's him. Flighty, nerdy, surprisingly strong." Wade munched down one last taco and sat back in his seat, looking like he would fall asleep right there.

Carter nodded. "Yeah, that sounds about right. Never talked to him before, but I've seen him around."

Wade pulled a phone out of his pocket and groaned. "Maria says playtime's over. Back to the Parkers' for me. I'll see you guys at school."

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

 **WayToDawn: _Hey guys! WE'RE BACK! :) And with a new installment of Living With The Avengers. We didn't think that it'd take us this long to post again. We hope you guys enjoy this new story because we've really enjoyed writing it._  
**

 **Lartovio:** HALLO. Sorry about the crazy wait, guys, but we wanted to finish before posting so we didn't screw up our timeline any further! I hope you enjoy this story as much as we have. Get ready for crazy feels, and don't forget to send us your love!


	2. Chapter 2

Carter leaned back against the elevator wall, "But why do I have to go with you?"

Laynie smirked, "Because you spend too much time in our room watching tv and eating. Some exercise will be good for you."

"I do not!" Carter frowned.

The elevator pinged and the doors slid open on a floor of the tower little-used by either child. It was a large, open space, filled with a strange assortment of gym equipment and training robots. The floor was used often by the Avengers for training and sparring sessions. Whenever Thor and Clint sparred for the TV remote, this is where Tony would send them.

Laynie and Carter burst out of the elevator, giggling and shouting. Carter was determined to get her friend for the couch potato comment. Laynie ran until she reached Natasha, whom she used as a human shield.

Carter folded her arms across her chest. "Just do your stupid training thing." She huffed and went to sit away from the mats.

Natasha rolled her eyes and turned to Wade and Laynie "Enough goofing off."

Wade gave a nod, and Laynie grinned. She'd been working off and on with all of the residents of the household, learning techniques little by little, and was always excited to learn more. Carter, on the other hand, was content leaving the fighting to the heroes. Sitting on the ground just beyond the mats, she watched as Natasha spoke to Wade and Laynie. She was so engrossed in watching them move through warm-ups that she jumped when her phone let out a shrill ring.

She jumped up and walked away from the mats, standing by the windows instead. "Hello?"

" _Hey Carter!_ " A teen exclaimed on the other end.

Carter smiled. "Hey James. What's up?"

" _Oh, um, not much. I just wanted to ask you something._ " He sounded nervous, which was rare for James.

"Yes?"

" _Uh well, I just was wondering if maybe, you know if you want to,_ " he stammered, " _maybe you'd like to go out with me. Tonight? I mean- if that's too soon we can wait, or if you don't want to go at all, um. Carter?_ "

She felt her race flush and quickly moved further away from the mats. "Um, sure. I'd like that." A wide grin spread across her face.

" _Great_!"

Carter giggled. "See you tonight then?"

" _Yeah! Pick you up at six?_ "

"That's fine."

" _Okay, cool_." James said, " _Well, I guess I'll see you tonight._ "

"Yeah," Carter agreed.

She slowly put her phone away. She tried to wipe the stupid grin off her face, but it seemed it was there to stay. Resuming her place near the mat, she started plotting out how she'd tell her dad.

Laynie shouted as her legs were taken out from under her. She hit the mat in a perfectly executed backfall, but still exclaimed a surprised "OW". As it turned out, Wade's skills were definitely more advanced than hers.

Wade laughed, "Better luck next time."

Carter shook her head, grimacing for what would happen next. Like her late mother and her adoptive father alike, comments like those only spurred Laynie on.

She swung her leg out and grabbed Wade's ankles, sending him tumbling. Swung a few sloppy punches that he barely blocked, and landed a heel in his stomach before Natasha ordered her to stop.

Natasha and Carter both laughed as Wade rolled on the floor, gasping for air.

Stifling her laughter, Carter called,"Laynie, come here."

Laynie groaned and walked over. "What? I was just getting warmed up."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. James just asked me out!" She blurted out.

She scoffed, but cracked a grin. "Finally! I've been waiting for it since he sucked your face off after the Hammer ordeal."

"You and me both." Carter replied. "Anyway, I'm going to go find something to wear for tonight. You can go back to training now." Carter smiled.

"I'll be down when we're done," Laynie said with a smile back.

Carter quickly jumped to her feet and headed for the elevator. A couple of floors down Clint hopped in on his way to the main floor.

Carter desperately tried to wipe the grin off her face, knowing Clint would catch on quickly. She failed miserably.

"What are you so happy about?" Clint question suspiciously.

"Oh, it's nothing." Carter laughed nervously. "Can't a person just be happy? A person doesn't have to be happy for any specific reason, you know"

Clint gave her a completely unconvinced look. "You're worse than that time Thor brought home a puppy under his cape. You're worse than _Thor_."

"I am not!" Carter frowned.

Clint blinked. "You're at least as bad." As the elevator gave a ping and the doors slid open, he strategically placed his entire body in front of the opening. "What are you up to?

"I'm not up to anything." Carter denied the accusation.

"You're not fooling me."

Carter frowned. "Fine, James asked me out, okay? You happy now?"

"Wait, wait, who said you could date?"

"I'm almost seventeen. I didn't think I needed permission to go out with a friend." Carter huffed

Clint weighed the situation for a moment. On one hand, he could let Carter go and trust her. On the other, he could tag her with a tracking device and a microphone and make sure he knows what she's doing. She's only sixteen, after all.

Either way, he was sending a security detail after her, hand-picked by Happy.

Carter quickly got frustrated as Clint stood in the door to the elevator, practically ignoring her, "Can I go now?" She huffed.

He squinted at her and slowly asked, "Can you, Carter? _Can_ you?"

Carter groaned and shoved him out of the elevator. "You're so weird." The elevator doors shut before he could say anything.

Within minutes, her whole wardrobe was strewn across her room.

Looking over everything, she said, "I probably should go through my closet sometime."

"Knock knock!" Laynie shouted as she entered the room.

She flopped down on the floor, arms spread and panting. Wade followed suit, face down into the carpet.

"Oh, hi!" Carter waved slightly, before turning back to her clothes.

There was silence for a few moments as Carter shuffled around with her clothes.

"Laynie..." Carter whined, "I have too many clothes!"

Wade moaned. "Why do you need more than a pair of pants and a few shirts in the first place?"

"We need bras too," Laynie mumbled.

Carter ignored the both of them and sat down instead. "What did Natasha do to you guys?"

"Wade made a sexist comment!" Laynie moaned. "We got punished for it."

Carter rolled her eyes. "Good job, Wade. Way to go."

He reached out to slap Carter, but missed by a mile. "Your family hates me."

Laynie made a face that indicated she didn't disagree. "C'mon, we have to find you something to wear."

Carter nodded, "Yeah," she picked up a pair of shorts and a pullover hoodie and looked at Laynie. "Too casual?"

She shrugged. "You could do better. Hang on." Laynie ran to her closet and pulled out a light sweater, then plucked a shirt off of her friend's bed.

"Oh, that's kinda cute." Carter smiled.

Laynie laid the partial outfit on the bed and sat down with it. "Is it weird to go on a date with James?"

"Well, I guess it seems a little weird, but I think it'll be okay." Carter shrugged. "And if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out."

Laynie nodded. "Well good luck. Do you need any more help getting ready?"

"Hm, no, I think I'm good. Thanks!" Carter grinned.

"Cool, Wade and I are going to go get some tacos from that place down the street. Call me if you need me!"

Laynie peeled Wade off the floor and the two were gone in a moment.

Carter quickly dressed and went to the main floor to wait for James.

She found Bruce sitting, reading a book.

He looked up. "Hey,"he said in surprise, "I just saw Laynie and Wade leave, I thought you'd be hanging out with them."

Carter came to sit next to him, "No, I told James I would hang out with him tonight."

Bruce nodded, "Alright. When do you think you'll be back?"

Carter shrugged, "I dunno. Not too late. Maybe nine, nine thirty."

Before Bruce could respond, JARVIS said, "Miss Carter, Mr. King is here to see you."

"Okay, thanks JARVIS." Carter said, she turned to Bruce, "I'll see you later."

"Alright. Bye." Bruce smiled.

When she got to the lobby she saw James standing near the entrance.

"Hey!" Carter waved.

"Oh hey!" James pulled her into a hug.

Carter laughed and hugged him back. "So, where are we going?" She asked.

He pulled away, "There's a little restaurant a few blocks down from here. And then I thought we could see that new romance movie."

Carter scrunched her nose at that. "Romance? Really?"

"Isn't that what girls like?" James asked awkwardly.

Chuckling, Carter shook her head. "Only certain romance movies for this girl, though I'd take a horror movie over that anyday."

James grinned. "Okay! We can do that!"

"Okay then. Let's get going."

James nodded and led her out to his car.

Once both were buckled properly, he carefully pulled away from the curb and into the flow of downtown traffic. It took about ten minutes to reach their destination, which was quickly passed with Carter's vivid descriptions of Wade.

"I've talked to Peter a few times before, we were in the same photography class last year. I can't imagine him and Wade getting along at all."

"According to Wade they get along pretty well." Carter shrugged, getting out of the car and following James into the restaurant.

"Hm, I would have never guessed." James said.

Pulling the door to the restaurant open, James allowed Carter to enter first before coming in afterwards.

It didn't take long for them to be seated.

They sat in silence for a few moments before James said, "So... excited for homecoming?"

Carter nodded with a smile, "Yeah, are you?"

"Yeah!" James grinned.

And another long stretch of silence followed.

Their food and drinks were brought out and they spent most of their dinner making small talk.

Carter picked at her food, wondering why it was so hard for them to talk all of a sudden.

"Hey, isn't that Clint?" James asked curiously.

That name brought Carter out of her nervous wondering. "What?!" She looked to the door just in time to see Clint slipping into a booth not too far away from them. "I should've expected this." She sighed.

"What do you mean?" James asked.

"He was bugging me about going out with you earlier today." She shrugged.

His eyes widened. "He's not gonna hurt me, is he?"

"No promises." Carter replied honestly. She looked around for a moment. "I think I see a back door over near the restrooms, maybe we can sneak away without Clint noticing us."

James snorted. "Yes, the trained spy won't notice us sneaking out the back door."

"Do you want to spend the rest of our date being watched by Clint?"

"No..."

"Then leave the money on the table and get moving." Carter ordered.

"Okay, okay. Geez." James said with a small smile.

Carter waited until Clint gave a glance at the menu, and then they sprinted for the back door. They barely managed to make it out without giggling. Once the door slammed after them, they fell against the walls in the back alley and laughed.

Once they calmed down, they went to the parking lot to get James car.

"What do you think he'll do when he notices that we're gone?" James asked.

"Probably come after us again. Don't be surprised if he shows up at the theater." Carter slid into the passenger seat of the car.

"Great," He sighed.

"Sorry."

James shook his head. "It's not your fault. Let's get to the movie." He smiled.

Carter nodded.

Not long after that, they arrived at the theater and were waiting for their movie to start.

"I hope the movie will be good. Too many horror movies have been bad recently." Carter commented.

"I know. They mostly just rely on cheap scares now. Nothing really creepy anymore." James agreed.

Carter nodded, "I see scarier things back at the tower most days."

James laughed.

Popping a piece of popcorn in her mouth, Carter said, "I was getting a bit worried at dinner when we weren't talking, but I guess Clint showing up was all we needed."

"Yeah, I guess so. I just hope he doesn't show up again, he may kill me if he does."

"Just be ready to run if he does appear suddenly."

They both became hushed as the movie began. The first thirty minutes of it met the expectations of a cheap horror flick, and then it started to pick up the pace.

Creepier things began happening, and the suspense built quickly. Carter was so tense that when her hand met James's in the popcorn bucket, she jumped.

"Just me," he whispered with a laugh.

A second later, there was a huge roar from an on-screen villain and both of them jumped. There was a startled "ah!" in the back of the theater that Carter recognized.

"Clint's in the back," she murmured. "But at least he's leaving us alone."

James nodded in agreement.

They watched the rest of the movie in peace. Well, as much peace as you could have watching a horror movie.

"That was pretty good." Carter said, as the credits rolled.

"It was. I'm glad my money wasn't wasted on a cliche horror movie." James grinned.

Looking at the time on her phone, "Well, I suppose I need to get back to the tower."

"Alright, let's get you home."

They stood and started for the entrance.

Before they left the dark theater, Carter looked over her shoulder, "I hope you enjoyed the movie Clint."

"Oh shut up, you brat." A low growl responded.

Carter giggled and turned back to James, "Come on, let's get going."

The ride back to the tower was mostly spent laughing about Clint's outbursts during the movie.

"Who would've thought Clint would get freaked out at horror movies?" James said.

"I know right?" Carter replied.

"In the scene with the guy with the ax, did you hear him gasp? He gasped through his freakin' nose!" James laughed. "It was the best sound ever."

Carter laughed until tears welled up in her eyes. "I had so much fun."

"Me too," James said, smiling happily.

Once they made it to the tower, a security guard came out of the building to escort Carter inside. James stood beside her at the car and watched the suited man come toward them. "That was really great. Did you enjoy yourself?"

"Yeah, of course!" Carter chirped.

"I'm glad." James looked down at his feet, "Maybe, we could do it again sometime?"

Carter smiled gently before leaning up and kissing him on the cheek, "I'd love to."

James flushed all the way to his ears. "I'll talk to you later then?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Anytime you're ready, Miss Carter." The security guard said when he reached the car.

"Thanks," Carter said. "I'll see you later, James."

"Alright," he waved before walking around to the driver's side of the car. "Bye Carter." He said and slid into the car.

Carter followed the security guard inside.

"Have a good night, Miss Carter." The man said, returning to his desk.

"You too." She answered, getting into the elevator.

When the doors slid closed, she leaned against the wall and let a smile spread across her face.

The familiar bing of the elevator signalled for her to compose herself before entering onto the main floor.

She found Wade and Laynie watching TV in a dark living room.

She walked over to the blanket and pillow covered couch, and stood for a moment before flopping on top of both teens.

"Carter!" Laynie exclaimed, completely missing that the prodigal friend had come home. She squished her friend's cheeks together and asked, "Soooo, how was your date?"

Wade leaned over her face. "Call if you ever need me to punch the guy."

Carter rolled her eyes, "It was fun, even after Clint showed up to spy on us. In fact, I think it may have been more fun after that happened."

Laynie let out a surprised laugh. "Clint spied on you? That's pretty priceless. I mean, I would have expected a guard to tail you or something, but _Clint_?"

"So it's not just me that your family hates?" Wade asked hopefully.

Carter ignored Wade, "Like I said, it was kinda annoying at first, but then became entertaining."

"I'm sure it was." A voice said behind them.

Standing behind the couch was none other than Clint.

"Oh hey." Carter waved from her seat atop Wade and Laynie. "How are you?"

"I don't appreciate the fact that you sneaked off earlier." He frowned.

Carter gave him an incredulous look. "What did you expect, you were spying on us. A huge invasion of privacy by the way."

"I wasn't spying on you. I was... chaperoning."

"You were spying on us." She deadpanned.

"Fine, I was spying! I just wanted to make sure he wasn't going to do anything stupid."

Carter sighed, "Well, now that you've seen that he's a good guy, will you leave us alone?"

Clint smiled slyly. "Maybe. Thanks for putting up with me." He then stuck a few fingers toward his eyeballs and again towards Wade, and left the room.

"He definitely doesn't like me."

"Pff, Carter thought he didn't like her for the first six weeks we lived here. He just takes time with new people." Laynie readjusted in her seat and flipped through the TV channels. "So, the first day of school tomorrow? Raise your hand if you would rather stab your eyeballs out with a pen." Laynie's arm shot up in the air as she said it.

Carter shook her head, "It's not that bad."

"That's what you say now." Laynie scoffed.

Carter stuck out her tongue before grinning widely.

Since becoming daughters of some of the most politically and physically powerful people on earth, the girls no longer had to deal with bullying on a physical level. There was still the occasional nutjob with the guts to pick on them (read: Flash Thompson) but their problems were more centered around academic pursuits. As the daughters of some of the _smartest_ people on earth, they were automatically expected by teachers to understand everything.

School had become easier in some ways, but harder in others.

"I'm excited to meet Peter," Laynie said.

"He's a ball of anxiety and angst. Angstiety!" Wade exclaimed. "All he does is emo and study and worry about his aunt. She's getting paid _extremely_ well by SHIELD, by the way."

Laynie didn't hear anything after "angstiety", she was too busy laughing. Carter could look past the pun.

"He can't be that bad. I mean, Laynie's a pretty big drama queen."

Laynie elbowed her friend in the ribs. "Am not."

"Are too!" Carter slapped her arm.

Before the girls could get into a fight, Bruce walked in.

"No arguing." He said simply, walking past them into the kitchen.

Carter rolled her eyes. "I'm going to bed, I will talk to you both tomorrow." She pushed herself off her friends. "Night guys." As she passed the kitchen, she called to Bruce, "Night Bruce!" The elevator closed with a ding behind her.

Wade gave a giant yawn, and then stood up. "I should probably head home."

"Do you need a ride home Wade?" Bruce asked from the kitchen.

"No sir. I can take the subway."

"Bye Wade, see you tomorrow morning!"

He flipped a peace sign at her and disappeared into the elevator.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

 _ **WayToDawn:** Here's another chapter for you lovely readers. :) Thank you to everyone who's read so far._

 ** _Lartovio:_** _Hiiii! Thanks for reading, guys!_


	3. Chapter 3

The first day of school was always a drag. Everyone was tired, the teachers weren't prepared, and just about nobody wanted to be there. Every now and again there was that one teacher who gave you a little bit of optimism, but it was always crushed the second you trudged out of the classroom with all your other zombie classmates.

For Laynie and Carter, things picked up around lunchtime. They had stayed late with their science teacher, convincing him that Tony definitely did _not_ want to fund his weird alternate reality project, and as a consequence were late to their lunch with James, Wade and Peter.

When they entered the cafeteria, laughing about the poor teacher, they were hit with a wall of students crowding a table near the entrance to the large area.

The entire place chanted, " _Chomp, chomp_!"

Laynie sighed. "It's gonna be Wade."

Using their pokey elbows, the girls worked their way to the front of the crowd and saw that it was, in fact, Wade. It was Wade, eating as many cafeteria tacos as were shoved his way.

"Oh my god, that's disgusting," Laynie mumbled. She caught a glimpse of a boy standing off to the side, his hand over his face. She instantly recognized him as Peter Parker. The camera around his neck only served to prove her point.

"Your new buddy's not bad, Parker," Flash said as he gave the skinny kid a harsh elbow to the ribs.

Carter shuffled over to Peter, "So, um, exactly how many tacos has he eaten?" She asked, giving Wade a look somewhere between awe and disgust.

Peter looked at her in surprise, but quickly answered, "Anywhere from 20 to 40." He stuck a hand out, "Peter Parker, you're either Laynie or Carter, right?"

"Carter." She replied and shook his hand, she pointed a thumb behind her, "The horrified girl behind me is Laynie."

Peter chuckled. "Nice to meet you. Though I kinda wish it wasn't when Wade was trying to break the world record on eating the most tacos."

"I did this," Laynie whispered to herself, watching Wade eat yet another taco.

Carter patted her arm. "It's alright. You could have never known he would turn into this."

Laynie sighed and turned away from the sad sight. "Laynie Stark," she said, sticking out a hand. "Peter?"

"Unfortunately," he said with a laugh.

"Y'know, he's a great guy, but I don't think I could live with him."

"You live with the _Avengers_ ," Peter blurted. "I-I mean, it's cool- but..." He stopped as Laynie and Carter began laughing.

"We get what you mean," Laynie said. "Has he been like this at home?"

"More or less," Peter sighed.

Carter just watched as he shoveled more and more tacos into his mouth. "He's like a black hole."

He laughed. "Basically, yeah."

"Well you've got to think about where he came from," Laynie said quietly. "I can tell he's struggling sometimes."

Carter frowned slightly. "I don't appreciate the guilt trip." Folding her arms across her chest, she said, "But, I get what you're saying."

"No guilt trip intended." Laynie took a few steps forward and patted him on the shoulder. Due to the whole 'Tony Stark's daughter' thing, the cheered faded out some.

"Wade, do you know what's in those? Like, horse meat and rehydrated beans."

"Is that bad?" he asked around a mouthful of taco.

Laynie made a face, but nodded. "Come on, let's get out of here before a teacher shows up."

Wade looked a little disappointed for a moment, but his grin returned when the crowd of teens gave him a round of applause.

Peter, Laynie and Carter were able to drag him away to the table where James already sat. He tried to give them all a grim look in relation to Wade's performance, but he only managed to grin at Carter.

"Peter, Wade, meet James-"

"Carter's boyfriend," Laynie finished.

Carter's face flushed red as she glared at Laynie, but all three boys ignored it. Peter and James shook hands, but Wade still just didn't understand the concept.

"Nice to meet you guys," James said with a smile. "How many tacos?"

Wade's eyes lit up. "Thirty two!" They high-fived, and the other three rolled their eyes all at once.

"Oh gosh. James don't encourage him." Carter groaned. "Eating thirty-two tacos in one sitting is not an okay thing to do."

"It wasn't impressive at all," James said with a cough.

"Of course not," Carter said, an eyebrow raised to her friend.

They all sat down and unpacked their lunches. Even Wade, who had just eaten a grand total of thirty two tacos in one sitting. There was an easy silence as they all ate and calmed down from the excitement of Wade's taco-eating.

"Aunt May said she's making Mexican tonight," Wade said, almost to himself.

Laynie snorted and accidentally inhaled a piece of her sandwich. It was one part the fact that he called her Aunt May, one part the fact that he was still thinking about food. He had more hollow limbs than Thor!

"You guys should come over for dinner some time," Peter said with a smile. "Aunt May likes having guests."

"Only if you come over for dinner at our house." Carter said with a smirk.

Peter laughed and shook his head. "No way."

"Aw, come on. It's not that bad." Carter grinned.

James scoffed. "Yes it is, don't let her fool you. They talked me into staying for dinner a couple weeks ago, don't do it man."

Carter stook out her tongue.

"Hey Peter, Steve said he was going to do some training with me and Wade tonight, you should come!" Laynie said. "And you too if you want, James."

Peter shook his head. "No way I can take Captain America."

"He doesn't really beat us up, he normally has us spar with each other. Natasha's the one you have to worry about," she laughed.

Wade jabbed him in the ribs. "Come on Pete, I'll go easy on you."

Peter glared at his friend. "You know what? You're on."

After school, the teenagers walked home together. Walking the ten blocks home prevented them from having to run laps with Steve. Besides, the freedom was new and exciting to the girls. Since Wade was around, the Avengers had let them do significantly more without a few heavily armed bodyguards or one of themselves.

"Hey Dad, don't forget that meeting you have with the board," Laynie shouted downstairs. "C'mon, we're going to the training floor."

They boarded the elevator and rode to the training floor. All the while Carter and James were talking and laughing behind Laynie, Wade, and Peter.

Wade rolled his eyes. "Teenage love. Wonderful."

"Oh shut up, Wade." Carter flicked the back of his head.

Before Wade could come up with a snarky comeback, the elevator doors slid open.

Steve looked up when he saw the group of teens. "Oh, hi." Eyes passing over each of them. "Last time I checked I was only training with Wade and Laynie."

"Don't worry, James and I are only watching." Carter waved and pulled James to sit with her beside the training mat.

Steve stuck his hand out to Peter. "My name is Steve Rogers."

"Um, I know," Peter said with stars in his eyes.

"And you are?"

"Ah, Peter, Peter Parker. I'm housing that guy." He jabbed a thumb toward Wade.

Wade nodded. "True story."

"Will you be sparring with us, Mr. Parker?"

Peter nodded dumbly.

"Alright, let's get started then. Today we're going over reaction time and knife techniques. Wade, Laynie, demonstrate for Peter what we learned last."

Laynie grabbed a rubber knife for practice and tossed it to Wade. Wade made a jab at her, and she professionally dodged it. He jabbed at her stomach and she caught the handle with her right hand. In about three seconds flat, she had him face down on the mat and the knife at the side of his throat.

James and Carter placed pillows they had brought from downstairs and sat down against a wall.

"She's not bad," James said.

"Some of it isn't as hard as it looks," Carter replied.

Laynie helped Wade up with a laugh and began walking Peter through what she had done.

Peter got it eventually, but was having a hard time with actually putting Wade on the ground.

"Let me see what you're doing wrong, son," Steve said. They went through the maneuver once, and Steve laughed. "You're holding back. Put me on the ground!"

Peter went through it again flawlessly and put Steve on his stomach.

"There you go!" he cheered.

Steve watched as his three pupils continued to spar with each other. He smiled.

Looking around a bit, he spotted Carter. Who was extremely close to James at that time.

Narrowing his eyes, Steve cleared his throat and said very clearly, "James, I'd recommend backing away at least two feet. Or maybe you'd care to join us here on the sparring mat?"

James' gaze snapped from Carter to Steve. Within seconds, he shifted the two feet Steve had commanded.

Steve nodded firmly.

Cater groaned. "Really Steve?"

"Do you want to keep dating each other?" Steve asked, turning back to Laynie, Wade, and Peter, who were watching in amusement.

She huffed. "Yes."

"Okay then." Steve smiled at her gently. "Now back to training?" He asked the other three.

"I knew Clint wouldn't be able to keep his mouth shut." Carter muttered.

James laughed. "Don't worry about it. Besides, I think I want to stay on their good side. Especially if I want to keep dating you."

Carter smiled. "Yeah, I guess so."

They turned back to the four on the training mat as Steve continued his lesson.

"Reaction time!" he shouted.

Laynie and Wade, knowing what this meant, took their given defensive stances and waited. Peter mimicked them as best as he could.

An arrow sailed toward Wade, and he dove to the right side to get out of its path. The red plunger on the end stuck to the mat.

Laynie searched the rafters for the crazy archer, but didn't see anything but another arrow. She shoved Peter on the shoulder to get him out of harm's way.

"That's not fair Steve," she whined. "At least give us pellet guns."

Steve only laughed as they jumped around, dodging arrows shot from the high ceilings. "I'm testing your reaction time!" He said it as if it somehow made him innocent of having Clint ambush them.

Carter and James laughed as their friends dodged and ducked away from the arrows.

"I give up! I'm done! I'm going to sit with James and Carter!" Peter raised his hands in defense and ran over to James and Carter.

He sat down next to them.

"Have fun?" Carter asked with a knowing grin.

"They're insane. They're actually insane." Peter murmured.

"I warned you," James mumbled back.

Wade and Laynie began launching the plastic arrows back at their owner and their tormentor, hitting neither and only getting hit in the process. The rubber suction cups left little red rings wherever they were hit, but they laughed anyway.

Clint eventually dropped down with a bow slung over his shoulders. "Not bad. Your aim is awful though."

Laynie laughed. "It's not like I had a bow, is it? Reaction time, you guys just wanted to torment us!"

Steve and Clint laughed.

"I'm moving in with Peter and Wade," Laynie fake-grumbled as she went to sit with her friends. Her face was flushed from all the running and shouting.

"They have no hesitation beating up strange children," Peter pointed out.

"None whatsoever," Laynie confirmed. "Who's up for some ice cream?"

"Oh my gosh, yes." Carter stood immediately.

James snorted. "You and your ice cream."

"Don't try and get between her and ice cream. If you do, I might not have to kill you," Clint said nonchalantly.

Carter shrugged, not necessarily denying the comment.

The group found themselves raiding the freezer for ice cream when James' phone went off.

"Hey, I've gotta go." He said, looking down at the phone screen, "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Bye!" Laynie, Wade, and Peter said simultaneously.

Carter smiled, "Bye James." She gave him a small hug.

"Bye." He smiled back before pulling away. He stepped into the elevator and was gone just like that.

Carter smiled to herself slightly.

"Awe, you two are so cute," Laynie teased.

Carter rolled her eyes, then widened them involuntarily. "Are you three eating my cookie dough ice cream?"

Laynie cackled madly and ran away with the carton. "You have a boyfriend! Let me eat your ice cream!"

Wade and Peter, while the girls fought over one carton, pulled another carton of cake batter ice cream out of the fridge and began spooning it into bowls.

Carter looked back at Wade and Peter and then back to Laynie. She groaned, "Why would you make me choose?" Deciding the cake batter ice cream was more important to her, she tackled Wade and Peter.

Wade ended up with the carton on one side of the room, and did an impressive pass to Peter as Carter ran toward him. Laynie stood off to the side trying to contain fits of laughter.

Eventually Carter snagged the precious ice cream and sat at the table, digging into it defiantly.

"You guys are mean," Laynie teased.

Peter frowned. "Carter's mean." He rubbed his arm where she had landed a payback punch.

"I can't believe you floored Captain America. Wade can't even do that!"

Peter turned pink and speechless, and exchanged a glance with Wade.

"Ohh, you know something we don't. Cough it up Wade."

"It's a secret," he taunted.

"I'll give you taco money."

"Peter is Spider-Man."

Laynie and Carter choked on their ice cream.

Peter took leave through a forty-third story window.


	4. Chapter 4

Laynie and Carter were engaged in a conversation as they entered the cafeteria, but Laynie brought it to an abrupt stop by shouting, "Peter!"

The boy in question walked faster, trying to blend into the crowd.

"Peter!" She shouted again. Wordlessly, she handed Carter her backpack and ran after him. Her ability to weave through a crowd proved more effective than any super powers he may have had, and she had him by the arm a moment later.

"So, superhero?"

Peter shushed her and twisted his arm out of her grip.

"When were you going to tell us that?"

"Laynie!" He said sharply. He grabbed her arm and made for the far side of the cafeteria.

"Because it's totally not at all important, it's not like I would have liked to know I was hanging out with a superhero!" Her tone sharpened as he pushed her into the wall. She shrank back, seeing a flash of Walter before her.

"See?" he burst. "That's why. I don't want to talk about it, especially not here. It's none of your business and it's easy to keep people safe when they don't know!"

She continued to shrink into the wall, eyes darting around as she plotted her escape.

Peter realized his error and took a few hasty steps backward, bumping into an empty table.

"Laynie, I'm sorry- I didn't mean to scare you."

She took a few deep breaths, shaking her head at him. "Anxiety stuff. It, um, happens every so often." She slouched into a chair across from where Peter stood. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to blow a secret or anything, I... I actually think it's kind of cool, considering how I could eventually end up doing the crime fighting thing. I have a lot to learn."

Peter sighed. "It's just... stressful having other people know about it. I'm not proud of everything I've done. Wade's the only friend who knows, and that's only because SHIELD told him."

"I get it. I've got things I wouldn't want other people to know about either. You should have been allowed to tell us on your own terms. Having the media on my back all the time, I know how that feels." She paused a beat, then smiled. "If it makes you feel any better, Wade did not get any taco money."

Grinning, Peter said, "I guess it makes me feel a little better."

"Good. Now I have to go collect my backpack from Carter, she's probably not happy about lugging it around. Do you want to sit with us again?"

"Of course."

The two made their way back to the table Carter and James occupied.

"About time." Carter threw Laynie's backpack at her.

Laynie caught the backpack with a grunt and shoved it under the table. "But I found our friend!"

Carter rolled her eyes, "More like attacked our friend."

James chuckled.

It was then that Wade showed up, tray piled high with food. "Hey guys!" He grinned.

Once everyone was situated with food, Laynie got out some notes from science to compare with her friends, and they soon found out Peter was a miniature Bruce Banner as far as science was concerned. Pretty soon, all of them had their notes out and were writing things frantically while Peter made the teacher's previous lecture make sense. Only the bell interrupted.

Carter groaned, "I've gotta go, I have math next and Mr. Stephenson is gonna kill me if I'm late again." She turned to James, "Bye," placing a peck on his cheek, she stood and said her goodbyes to everyone else.

James stood too. "I'm off to the gym."

"I'll go with you!" Wade said, bounding after him.

Laynie stood and slung her backpack over her shoulder, looking down at Peter with a smile. "I know you don't want to, but if you ever do need to talk, I'm here."

He stood and nodded. "Thanks Laynie. I- um, I'm glad we've all met each other. It's nice to, you know, have friends."

She nodded solemnly. "As much as I love Carter, I do live with her. See you around Peter!"

They parted ways with a friendly nod.

* * *

Bruce picked the girls up from school, to their surprise. Normally it was Clint or Steve that did it, but apparently both of them and Natasha had been called in for a mission. Laynie automatically assumed she should sit in the back seat since it was Carter's dad in the front, but her friend slid in the back with her instead. She gave her a weird look, but only got another one in response.

Once home, Laynie flung herself across the couch with her feet in Tony's lap as she recounted her day, focusing on the parts about her weird literature teacher and mean math teacher instead of the fact that her new friend was Spider-Man. Tony flipped through channels, occasionally asking a question or laughing when his daughter told over-dramatic stories of conversations with teachers and other students.

Once she ran out of things to say, she silently began drafting up a new post for her blog and listened to the old television show her dad was watching. But Laynie was always listening to the things around her, a product of both paranoia and curiosity, and it wasn't lost on her that across the room Carter and Bruce hadn't spoken a single word to the other.

Now it wasn't always shocking when they were quiet, since they were both generally reserved people... But the silence seemed extra thick that day.

Meddling time.

"Hey Carter, I'm going to start my homework. Want to come?"

"Ugh, fine." Carter grabbed her bag and dragged it along the ground behind her as she followed Laynie to the elevator.

They flopped down on the floor without so much as a word to each other and began yanking papers out of their bags. Laynie let Carter get all settled in before she began.

"Sooo, Bruce picking us up was a surprise. He doesn't normally do that."

"Yeah, I know." Carter replied simply. Making a disgusted look at her math book, she slammed it shut and settled for literature.

"Bruce could help with that math," Laynie pointed out.

"Yes... I know. But, I don't have any math homework due until Friday." Carter opened her copy of Oliver Twist.

Laynie let out a scoff. "What's going on? You're avoiding Bruce even more than normal."

"No, I'm not." Carter denied uncomfortably.

"You are! And you, you call him Bruce. It's just weird that you were so excited to be adopted and now that you are, you act like he doesn't exist."

Carter sighed, "What exactly is wrong with calling him Bruce? It's his name. And I don't pretend like he doesn't exist."

Laynie frowned at her friend. "I mean, he's your dad, right?"

"Laynie..." Carter sighed. Sitting up, she ran a hand through her hair. "I love Bruce, I really do. It's just... it's only been six months, since- since our parents died. Not a day goes by that I don't think about them. It's hard to think about Bruce as my father... you know with my real dad still on my mind."

Laynie sobered a little. She understood. It was only half the time she called Pepper by Mom, after all, even though she accepted the fact. "I guess it's just that I never had a dad," she breathed. "I don't understand why you aren't as... excited about it I guess. I haven't forgotten about our parents-"

"I didn't say that-"

"-I know. Just, I miss my mom, but I try not to think about it as much." She laughed a little bit. "I'm trying to move on as quick as I can. I'm sorry." Laynie got up and walked to the staircase, where she disappeared from Carter's sight.

Carter left her homework where it was and ran to her room.

Shutting the door behind her, she slid down to the floor and buried her face in her hands. _I didn't mean to upset her._ Taking a deep breath, she forced her tears back. Crawling over to her bookcase, she pulled out her scrapbook. She flipped it open to the first page and was met with the smiling faces of her parents on their wedding day.

 _What am I doing?_ Carter asked herself, as she looked through the book, going through each year of her life. Her birth, birthdays, vacations, and first and last days of school.

The last pages in the scrapbook recounted the last vacation they had. They died only a few weeks after that.

 _I miss them so much..._ Her tears spilled over and landed on the open pages.

She shut the book and gingerly placed it under her pillow. After scrubbing the tears off her face, she sought out her friend. Tony was concerned when she asked about Laynie and neither of them new, but he didn't go poking his nose where it didn't belong.

Carter eventually found Laynie on the roof, laying on the smooth stones all over and staring up at the sky.

The early autumn breeze sent clouds skittering across the sky and Carter's hair all into her mouth and eyes.

She sat down wordlessly beside Laynie and waited for her friend to speak.

"I'm sorry," Laynie said eventually. Her eyes were closed now.

"Don't worry about it." Carter smiled gently. "You were just worrying about me. And I wanted to thank you for that."

Laynie snorted and covered her face with her hands. "Are you kidding me? I woke up with my feet in my mouth today."

"Ah well, we all have our bad days."Carter shrugged.

"Does it ever feel completely unreal that we're here? I mean, one day we're harassing Coulson while our parents are on a mission, and the next day all four of them are dead. It's not fair."

"I know." Carter said quietly. "But, good things came from this too. We have a new family now, and new friends too."

Laynie was just barely biting back tears. "Yeah. I'm, um, I'm going to ask Tony for help with my homework."

Carter nodded, "Alright. I'll see you later."

Laynie made for the stairs, and Carter sighed.

Before her friend could escape, she jumped up and wrapped her arms around her.

"If it's any comfort, you'll always have me."

Laynie laughed and hugged her back. "Thanks Carter."

Carter released her friend, letting her escape to find Tony. She, on the other hand, went back to her forgotten homework.


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey Laynie, I meant to ask you, do you know what happened to Tammy? I haven't seen her since school ended."

Laynie thought for a moment, "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, her parents transferred her to a new school after what happened between you guys last year." She smiled. "Guess you'll never have to deal with her again."

"Hm, I guess not." Carter smiled slightly.

"Tammy? You mean Tammy Simpson?" Peter interrupted.

Carter nodded.

Peter looked at Carter incredulously. "You're the one she attacked in the bathroom, aren't you?"

She chuckled nervously. "Yeah, sorta."

Wade laughed. "She must have been screwed. She attacked you when your dad is the freaking hulk?"

Laynie snorted. "Not quite. That would be a poor choice, though."

The group of teens were walking with each other to the subway, where they would ride for about ten minutes into Queens. Apparently Aunt May had been pestering Peter about inviting his and Wade's new friends over, and apparently Fury had thought it was a good idea.

As the four friends boarded the subway train, they laughed at the strange looks and unwanted attention they drew. They hadn't ridden the subway since being taken in by the Avengers for this very reason. New Yorkers left and right were giving them sideways glances, like they were expecting an Avenger to pop up any second.

"You guys _have_ ridden the subway before, right?" Peter asked.

"Oh yeah," Laynie laughed. "Before Tony and Bruce we were just normal kids. I've been taking the subway since eighth grade."

"Yeah, I can't say I really miss it though..." Carter admitted.

Laynie shook her head grimly. "Nope."

Peter scoffed, "Well, we can't all be children of famous superheroes. Some of us are stuck having to use public transportation."

"Yes, I feel bad for you peasants," Carter teased.

Laynie elbowed Peter playfully. "Not all of us can have secret identities, jerk."

"She's got you there, man," Wade commented.

Peter opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the subway coming to a sudden stop in Queens.

Minutes later, Laynie and Carter were skipping down the sidewalk towards Peter's. Wade grabbed Peter's arm and tried to get him to skip too, but he wouldn't.

"Party pooper!" Laynie cried. "C'mon Wade, you can skip with us."

They skipped right up to the porch, where Aunt May sat with a book.

"Oh, hello!" she called cheerfully. She stood and opened the door for everyone.

"I'm sure you know who I am, but which one of you is Carter and which is Laynie?"

"I'm Laynie," she said with a big smile. "It's nice to meet you Mrs. Parker."

"Hi, I'm Carter." Carter gave a small wave. "Nice to meet you."

"Oh, it's nice to meet you all too!"

"You guys can throw backpacks and shoes wherever," Peter said as he trudged into his living room.

"Yes, and dinner will be out of the oven in just a few minutes. Wade, come help me set the table."

Wade made a face and went along after Aunt May.

Laynie went into the living room, Carter close behind, and took a seat on the soft carpet. "Your Aunt is awesome."

Peter grinned. "Yeah, I like to think so."

"So, does she, uh-"

Peter's eyes widened and he shook his head rapidly. "I haven't- uh, it hasn't come up."

Laynie squashed a bubble of laughter before it escaped. "Right. Good luck with that."

"Yeah, and uh, if you could, would you not tell your parents either?"

She raised an eyebrow, but shrugged. "My dad has a triple digit IQ. Now that I know it's a matter of time for him."

"Well, keep a secret as long as possible." Peter said with a desperate expression on his face.

Peter jumped when Aunt May called into the living room to say dinner was ready. They all three bolted for the table, where a huge pan of homemade chicken pot pie was waiting in the center of the table.

"The food looks wonderful." Carter complimented, closing her eyes and taking a big breath.

"Do you kids have any classes together?"

Carter thought for a moment. "I have history and science with Wade."

Wade laughed. "Yeah, I don't think our teachers really appreciate it."

"I have literature with Peter, and a couple others with Carter," Laynie added.

"Other than that, I think lunch is the only time we ever meet up." Carter smiled.

"Well you sure did become friends fast! All Peter and Wade talk about are you three. So, where do you two live?"

Laynie gave Peter a desperate look. One that asked "are we allowed to actually tell her?"

Peter made a face at Laynie and Carter, then shrugged.

"Um, Carter and I live in midtown Manhattan."

"Oh, so you live close to each other then?"

"Yeah, you could say that." Carter answered hesitantly.

After dinner was eaten, Laynie and Carter helped Aunt May with the dishes and everyone talked.

At around eight pm, the doorbell rang and everyone but Aunt May had a heart attack.

"Oh, it must be a parent, I'll get it."

By the time Peter found his voice and was able to shout, "Wait!" it was too late. Poor Aunt May opened the door on Tony Stark and Steve Rogers.

"Oh, oh my. How can I help you gentlemen?"

Laynie and Carter jumped out of their seats and made for the door.

"We're here for Carter and Laynie."

Aunt May looked deeply confused for a few moments, and then it hit her. She turned around with wide eyes to the girls. Laynie gave a sheepish grin, then exited the house and shut the door.

"What are you guys doing here? Fury will have you for dinner," she hissed.

"I got another death threat," Tony answered.

"That happens every day!"

"Yeah, but this one was made by a pretty major villain," Steve countered.

"We just didn't want you guys to walk home alone."

Carter soon joined the three on the porch. Before she shut the door, she said, "Sorry about that, we'll be right back. Okay, so Peter's aunt is pretty shocked. She really wasn't expecting that."

"Poor woman. She fed us dinner and you're going to give her a heart attack," Laynie said accusingly.

Steve was starting to look guilty, while Tony was just rolling his eyes.

"Get your stuff guys," he said.

Laynie groaned and went inside.

"Sorry, we've gotta go," Carter apologized as she grabbed her backpack.

"It was very nice having you two, it was just a bit of shock near the end." She laughed gently.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. We would have warned you..."

"But you want to be treated like normal children, I understand. I hope you all come again, it was nice to meet you." She gave each of the stunned girls a hug and sent them on their way.

 _ **Author's Notes:**_ ** _Lartovio:_** _Thanks for all the views and support so far guys! Let us know what you think!_


	6. Chapter 6

All was quiet. Too quiet. The brunette walked slowly toward the closet, her outstretched hand trembling, and touched the doorknob delicately. For a moment, she wondered if it was a good idea to open the door. She just had to know what was in there. She had to know why.

So she turned the knob.

All five teens on the floor gave a startled scream. Wade, who was perched on the back of the couch, pin wheeled his arms and landed on the floor with a thud. Laynie and Carter buried themselves under their blankets and pillows as the murderer came out of the closet, ax swinging. James hid behind Carter, and Peter's yell was louder than anyone's.

A few other crashes were heard in a separate part of the tower, and all of the teens forgot about the movie as they took battle positions. Laynie wielded her phone like a lethal weapon. Wade and Peter were pushed toward the stairs.

Suddenly a whole herd of Avengers appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

"What happened? Did somebody break into the Tower?" Tony whispered anxiously.

Behind him, Bruce was looking around cautiously, baseball bat at the ready. Natasha had her gun, ready to shoot anything that dared to move and Thor held Mjolnir, eyes darting back and forth rapidly. Apparently Clint either didn't wake up when they screamed or didn't care enough to get up.

Peter and Wade laughed and dropped their defensive stances. The girls and James joined in on the uneasy laughter and approached the herd of parents.

"We were just watching a scary movie," Peter explained. "No danger."

Steve burst through the crowd of people, wearing only American flag boxer shorts and trying desperately to pull his pants on without tripping while still keeping hold of his shield.

"What happened? Where's the danger?" He was panicked and half asleep.

Tony sighed. "Don't get your patriotic panties in a knot, the kids are overreacting to a scary movie."

"Overreacting?" Laynie mimed. "This thing is scary as crap!"

A few bets and deals were made, and twenty minutes later the movie had been started over and played to the spot the teens were so scared of.

When the murderer came out, axe and all, Tony yelped slightly. Both Bruce and Steve flinched at the suddenness of it, and Natasha, though seemingly fearless, was a little shocked at the amount of gore and blood.

Somehow, Thor was the only one who didn't react the normal way. He simply said, "Why is this man hiding? Why does he slither about like a coward? And what has the girl done to warrant such a horrible and mutilating death?"

"Whoa there, it's just a movie." Carter said, "It's just to scare people."

"Why would someone wish to scare people with this?"

"It's more like people want to scare themselves actually," James commented.

"How strange..."

"That sure is a lot of blood," Steve said, disgusted.

"And dismembered limbs," Bruce added.

Tony rolled his eyes. "You're all a bunch of wimps."

"I never got the point of horror movies." Natasha shrugged and left.

Laynie shrugged. "I do prefer a good haunting."

Carter scoffed. "Everyone's a critic."


	7. Chapter 7

Laynie sat down across from James and let her tray of food fall to the table with a clatter.

James startled and gave Laynie a wide-eyed stare. "Hi Laynie."

"Hello James. You and Carter are cute. I'm glad you're not leading her on anymore. But let's make one thing clear. I am the daughter of a genius who happens to double as a superhero. I also happen to have a super powered gold-titanium alloy suit stashed in the basement. If you hurt my friend, I will hurt you."

James stayed frozen, staring at her.

"Clear?"

"Clear!"

Carter slid into the seat beside him five seconds later. "Hey Laynie, everything okay?"

"Yeah, we're good!" she responded happily.

Carter smiled and flicked her gaze over to James. "Um, are you okay?"

James shook himself out of his shocked stupor in time to answer Carter. "Yeah, just fine." He chuckled nervously.

"Okay then."

Wade and Peter clambered into their seats a second later, and the crew was assembled.

"How was science?" Wade asked Laynie around a mouthful.

Laynie groaned. "I'm just glad I have Tony as a dad, because he's actually a rocket scientist."

Everyone laughed except Laynie, because science is no laughing matter.

"Hey, did you guys hear about the winter formal they're doing in Central Park?" Wade asked excitedly.

Peter sighed. "Wade's excited to socialize."

"It's overrated," Laynie said offhandedly. "It's mostly a bunch of old rich people looking for an excuse to party.

"I think it sounds like fun." Carter said with a bright smile.

"Oh yeah, I heard about that. It's sometime in November, right?" James asked.

"Yeah, it's the day after thanksgiving. I want to go but Peter's being a jerkwad about it."

"Am not."

"Well I'm interested if Carter is," James said.

Carter blushed, "Does that mean we're going together?"

"Yeah! Well, that is if you want to?" James asked hopefully.

"Of course I do!" Carter nodded.

"Ah, young love." Laynie teased.

Carter rolled her eyes. "Maybe we need to find you a boyfriend, Layn."

Laynie snorted. "Everyone in the school is scared of me. One part because of me, one part my dad."

"I can be your date Laynie," Wade joked.

"Uh huh, yeah."

"She doesn't appreciate my dashing looks. Look at this face!"

"Do you mind us tagging along?" Peter asked.

James opened his mouth to respond, and Carter beat him to the punch. "Yeah, no problem!"

"Petey, you'll take me to the social, won't you?" Wade clasped his hands under his chin and batted his eyelashes at Peter. Peter laughed and kicked him under the table.

"It's all set then." Carter said happily.

"Tickets are pretty steep," Peter said hesitantly.

"Say no more. I've got the cost."

"Laynie, you can't do that for all of us!"

"Yes I can. Dude, if you saw my allowance you would not be guilty."

"I'm going to be super weirded out when you wear something other than a t-shirt," Wade commented.

Laynie pouted, pointing her fork at him. "Hey! I own like, two dresses!"

"Wow, two _whole_ dresses," Carter mocked.

James scoffed. "That's better then you with your borderline obsession with dresses."

"I don't like pants." Carter defended both herself and the floral dress that she wore that day.

"And I don't like skirts. We will agree to disagree and not have this argument again."

Carter shrugged. "It's one of many things we disagree on."

"Agreed."

Wade blinked. "Girls are weird."

"Smart, the word you're looking for is smart," Laynie corrected.

When the bell rang, Wade and Carter ran for their history class, and James went for the gym. Laynie and Peter walked together toward literature.

Peter took a breath to speak, deflated, and then finally worked up the courage to speak. "You know, um, Wade wasn't kidding."

Laynie raised an eyebrow. "About seeing me in a dress?"

He laughed. "About that too, but I meant the date thing."

Laynie paused. "Oh. That's really sweet, but he's just so- he just got out of that place and started living, and... He doesn't know how that kind of stuff works, and I'm not- well, let's just say he won't be the first guy I turn down. I don't mean to be harsh or anything but-"

"You're rambling."

Laynie let out a shaky breath. "Thanks."

"He's not going to say anything, so don't worry about it."

Laynie nodded. "Cool. Nothing's different?"

"Nothing's different," Peter smiled. "Did you actually get those chapters read last night?"

"Are you kidding? This is my favorite class. I read them as soon as I got home."

Peter laughed and followed her into the classroom.

* * *

Instead of the typical Steve, Pepper or Bruce pulling up to the curb, Laynie and Carter found themselves getting a ride home in Tony's hotrod. He roared up to the curb, drawing the attention of other students.

"Hey Dad, what's up?"

"Fury gave me a mission and he won't leave me alone about it. Where are your little teenage friends?"

"Wade and Peter?" Carter asked.

"Yeah, them. Where are they?"

"Um, I'll call Peter."

A few minutes later, all four of them climbed into the car and were speeding through the streets of Manhattan.

"What's this about?" Laynie, in the front seat, asked quietly.

"Told you, Fury gave me a mission. You guys like ice cream? I know a place."

Ice cream cones in hand, the group sat down at a table and Tony finally got to the point.

"I was seventeen when my parents died. I made some dumb choices, hung out with a bad crowd, and did a lot of things I regret. It took me over twenty years to get my act together and it sucked. In essence, don't do drugs, stay in school, don't drink, and make good choices. Drugs make you ugly anyway."

"Thank you for that... Enlightening speech," Laynie said, a little dumbstruck.

Carter looked between each of her friends and back to Tony. "What's with the ice cream and public service announcement?"

"Fury wants me to be a 'good role model'. Whatever that means. I've saved the world a few times, isn't that enough? Man thinks he runs the whole world, god."

Laynie put a hand over her face. "Can we go home?"

"Yeah. You know what? I'll be in the car."

Peter and Carter gave Laynie pointed looks while Wade stared at his ice cream.

Laynie spread her hands in an 'I have no clue' gesture. "Let's just go."

The ride home was silent and tense. Every time Tony turned a corner, the teens had to grab onto something to keep from squishing each other. Once everyone was back in the tower, Laynie signaled to her friends to go upstairs, then Tony to his workshop.

"What was all that about?"

Tony threw a wrench off of a seat and sat down. "I don't want to talk about it."

"You said Fury gave you a mission?"

Tony gave his daughter a look, then relented. "Yeah. He wanted me to give you guys this sappy, elaborate speech about my past and how it sucked and you should never make my mistakes," he waggled his finger as he imitated Fury's voice. "But I just..." He ran a hand through his hair and shrugged. "I can't do it like he wants me to."

Laynie smiled gently. "Well I think Wade got the gist."

Tony scoffed. "Yeah, sure. At least it's over with. I don't have to deal with him anymore."

"I don't care what Fury said, he's a good kid. He seems perfectly normal."

"Have you seen the way that Parker kid watches him? Like he's going to fall apart any second. That kid is a ticking time bomb. I don't want you to be around for the explosion. I don't trust Parker either. He has a secret."

Laynie walked over to the glass case that housed the blue, silver, and black suit that would someday be hers. "I can handle anything. Don't worry."

Tony gave his daughter a soft smile. "Sure."

Laynie turned and gave him a hug. "Thanks for trying."

"Anytime kiddo."

* * *

 _ **Author's Notes:**_

 _ **Lartovio** : And thus ends our week of daily updates! I hope you guys have enjoyed what we have so far! From now on we're going to be posting once a week (maybe two chapters in a day if they're small) but we haven't exactly decided the day yet. It will probably end up varying a little, but Friday/Saturday/Sunday nights are most likely. So, leave a review if you like and make sure to check back next week!  
_

 ** _WayToDawn:_** _Hey guys, I hoped you liked the chapters we've posted so far. Like Lartovio said, from here on out we'll be posting once a week. Thank you to everyone who's left reviews, we really appreciate it! :)_


	8. Chapter 8

"I'm so done with all this dress shopping." Carter groaned as she walked back into the dressing room.

"That last one wasn't so bad," Peter called from outside the dressing rooms.

Laynie nodded in agreement. "I thought it was pretty."

"It was too tight."

Laynie rolled her eyes. "Was it not you, my friend, that once said we must... How did you phrase it... 'Flaunt what we got?'"

Wade burst into laughter, while James and Peter's cheeks went a little pink.

"Yeah, well I don't want it to be so tight I can't breathe." Carter called. She exited the dressing room stall in her own clothes and went to browse the racks some more. She came across a long. strapless silver dress. After examining it for a second, she gave it a nod and headed back to the dressing room.

"Have you found your dress yet, Laynie?" Peter asked.

Laynie shook her head. "I'm waiting until I see something that really strikes me."

"Strikes you physically?" Wade asked. "Because at that point I'm not sure the dress is a good idea."

She gave him a look that made him shift away a little. "I mean that I want to wait until I find a really great looking one. I mean, we have almost three months until the formal."

Carter came out of the dressing room grinning. "I really like this one."

"Ooh." Laynie walked a circle around her friend and nodded in approval. "It's the best one yet."

"The color is nice," Peter said.

Everyone turned expectantly to James, who gave a look around and asked in a small voice, "What?"

"You're the boyfriend, your opinion is the only one that counts," Laynie hinted.

Carter looked at him nervously. "What do you think?"

"You look beautiful."

Laynie grinned and patted Carter on the shoulder. "What he said."

Carter began debating the pros and cons of one dress over the other, turning in the mirror and mumbling to herself. Eventually, Laynie's eye was caught by a dress across the store and she slipped out to go see it closer.

"Did a dress hit you?"

Laynie glanced over her shoulder and found Wade following her like a lost puppy. "Ha-ha. I liked the color, but now that I see it up close... It's kinda ugly."

He poked the fluffy skirt a few times and then held it up against Laynie. "I dunno, it could work."

Laynie cocked an eyebrow. "I think I'd rather wear a potato sack to the formal." She put it back on the rack. "You, Mr. Wilson, have no sense of fashion."

He grinned. "Yeah, well, I'm only a boy."

She moved to pick through other dresses as Wade did the same on the other side of the wrap-around rack.

"Are we training with Natasha or Steve tomorrow?

"Um, I have no clue actually."

Laynie snorted as she pulled a dress out of the rack. "You're a bunch of help." She put the blue dress back and folded her arms across the hangers, resting her chin there. "Have you the thought about your name at all?"

Wade made a confused face as he leaned forward as well. "My name as in Wade... Or Wilson?"

She laughed a little. "No, your superhero name."

"Oh. Not really. I don't even know if I'm doing that. Even if SHIELD _is_ training me."

"Fair enough," she sighed.

"Is it okay if I ask why?"

Laynie shrugged and began her search again. "I've been thinking about it a lot. I want in on the action, and I have a suit, but I don't have a name. I mean, what are they going to call me? Iron Girl? My dad's name was given to him, Thor, well, that's just kind of his name. And Bruce, another given name. Clint chose his I think. Natasha, well, she got hers because she would- well, figure that out yourself. Point is, I don't know _how_ to think of a superhero name."

Wade frowned. "I don't know if that's a good idea. I mean, for you to be a hero. Peter comes home every other night bloody and bruised. Do you know how much sleep he gets? Negative _nada_."

"C'mon! I'm Tony Stark's daughter, Spider-Man's best friend and my other best friend is the daughter of the Incredible Hulk. How am I supposed to stay off the crime-fighting scene?"

"Even if you did decide you really wanted to go into the superhero business, I don't think your dad would let you."

She quirked her mouth to the side, considering it for a second. "I'm sure we could come to some kind of agreement. I just... Carter and I, we got into a situation over the summer." Laynie rubbed at her wrist subconsciously. "I have to be able to protect myself. Training with you and Natasha and Steve, it's kinda the only thing keeping me sane." She turned on him suddenly with a glare. "And don't you dare tell anyone I said that."

"Yeah, of course. I won't tell anyone."

Laynie smiled. "Thanks."

"No problem," Wade said with a grin.

 _ **Author's Notes:**_

 _ **Lartovio:**_ _Thanks for all the love so far guys!_


	9. Chapter 9

The table hushed as Wade elbowed Peter, warning him of an approaching enemy.

Flash Thompson, star player of the Midtown Basketball team, slammed his tray onto the table a second and a half later. He shoved Peter to make room, subsequently shoving Wade, and spoke through a mouthful of cafeteria meatloaf.

"I see you made some friends Parker. Why don't you dorks introduce yourselves?"

Laynie was the only one that made eye contact with him, sitting across the table. Everyone else silently picked at their food.

Peter winced as Flash jabbed at him again, and Laynie took a calming breath. Carter poked her under the table.

"Your friends have as much manners as you do!" Flash roared.

Ignoring her friend's silent warnings, Laynie snapped her head up and gave Flash a false smile. "I'm Laynie Stark. You must be the boyfriend of the piece of trash that hit my friend."

Carter stiffened, giving Flash a look. "Laynie..."

Flash stuck his hand out. "Good to meet ya Laynie."

Peter made pointed eye contact with Laynie. His words echoed around in her head.

 _"I let him pick on me to keep up my identity. It's like a public alibi that I could never be Spider-Man."_

But that had nothing to do with Laynie. There was no reason she could just kick Flash's butt _for_ Peter.

She put her hand in Flash's, shaking politely. Flash's grip increased threateningly.

"Hey Petey, how's that uncle of yours?"

Laynie snapped.

"Hey, how about you shut your mouth?"

"Laynie." Carter hissed. _What has gotten into her?_ She thought incredulously.

Wade and Peter just kinda stared at Laynie in awe.

Flash on the other hand looked extremely angry with Laynie. "What did you just say to me?"

She leaned forward, elbows on the table. "I said, you deaf idiot, would you like to shut your mouth."

Flash looked over to Peter and asked, "Can you believe this girl? She thinks she's threatening."

Peter made a face, looking at Laynie and not Flash.

"She could take you any day," Wade insisted. Laynie noticed for the first time that his face was flushed, like he was just as angry at Flash as she was.

Flash laughed. "Yeah right, like this pipsqueak could hurt me." He mocked her.

Carter was angry with Flash too, but knew that he could seriously injure both her and Laynie if he wanted to. "Laynie, maybe we should just let this one go." She suggested nervously.

Carter watched, a little startled, as a smile spread across Laynie's face.

"Laynie," Peter said harshly.

Laynie leveled a glare at Flash. He reminded her so much of Walter. From the look in his eyes of unbridled crazy, down to the very way he held himself. He was a common bully. Not worth her time.

Flash reached out and fisted a hand in Peter's shirt.

Laynie gripped the sides of her metal cafeteria tray.

Flash raised his fist, taunting her.

She told herself not to engage, she tried so hard to take Carter's advice. But Flash's fist started moving, and so did she.

She tipped the contents of her tray and took it in one hand, swinging it effortlessly into Flash's fist and diverting it from its course.

Flash yelped in surprise and flung his fist around.

Laynie calmly set her tray back down, regretting all her spilled food.

"Looks like you have more guts than I thought, brat." He stood, taking his tray with him. "Don't let me catch you around again." As he walked by, he tipped his own tray of applesauce, meatloaf, and pudding into Laynie's lap.

She was shocked for a second, gasping and slicking pudding off her arms. Then she laughed, and took a big glop of the nastiness out of her lap.

"Laynie don't-!"

It was too late. The handful of gross hit Flash right in the back of the neck, sliding into the collar of his jacket.

Peter groaned and hid his face in his hands, "Laynie, why?"

She shot him a look, chin stuck out in a defensive manner. "Why the heck not?"

Before he could respond, a loud roar could be heard coming from Flash. He slammed his tray down on the table. "You've gotta lot of nerve trying that, pipsqueak."

Laynie gave him a delicate smile. "And what would you like to do about it, Flash?"

Flash sneered at her before grabbing a milk carton off the table. Slowly, he leaned over the table and poured the milk over her head.

"Ah!" Laynie exclaimed in shock. The white substance dripped from her face and hair.

Growling, Laynie lashed out at him and punched him in the nose.

Peter and Carter moved to stop her, but not even Peter's spider-powers were quick enough to stop her.

Flash's nose cracked under the carefully trained fist.

Laynie, standing, flicked pins and needles out of her hand. She wasn't used to hitting anything other than a bag.

It took Flash a few moments to process what happened. He took just enough time for the tables around them to erupt into laughter. The reigning school bully's nose was just broken by a girl half his size.

That was enough to snap him out of it. He reached out and grabbed Laynie's wrist, pulling her close enough that she feared blood on her shirt.

Her wrist squirmed in his grasp. It was her bad wrist, thoroughly scarred, battered, and sometimes painful, from her time with Hammer. Even through the discomfort, her training held strong and she stared Flash right in the eyes.

"Hey bozo," Wade said from somewhere behind Flash. "Pick on someone your own size."

Flash dropped Laynie's wrist as his face contorted into what can only be described as horror.

Wade Wilson, later declared the bravest kid in Midtown High, had just given Flash Thompson a super-strength wedgie.

It was a few minutes after Wade and Flash started fighting that some teachers intervened and Flash, Laynie, and Wade along with Peter and Carter were sent to the principal's office.

Once the principal received confirmation from the three guilty students that Carter hadn't been involved at all, she was excused to math class. Peter, the only calm or reasonable one out of the four of them, told the story slowly and truthfully.

The principal gave Flash one night of detention and dismissed him to the nurse's office. He dismissed Peter next, to his chemistry class.

After that, the principal sat quietly and stared at Laynie and Wade.

"Mr. Wilson, Miss Stark, I will assume that your punishments will be given in full by your caregivers."

Wade gulped. Fury wouldn't go easy on him.

"However, if I see you using your powers in the school again, you can be sure you will be on the receiving end of the worst punishment I can fathom."

"Sir, I don't even have powers!" Laynie complained.

The principal raised a bushy eyebrow. "You're being trained by the Black Widow. You don't get that excuse anymore."

Laynie fell back into her seat, the defensiveness drained out of her. She rubbed at her wrist while the principal typed up an official report to be sent to Director Fury.

"We're going to be so confused in class tomorrow," Laynie mumbled.

Wade nudged his friend with his elbow. "Tomorrow is Saturday."

"See? I'm already confused."

He snickered.

She caught his attention, bumping her knee into his. "Thanks for wedgie-ing Flash. That was pretty gutsy."

He gave her a toothy grin, then winked as the principal silenced them.

While Laynie and Wade were comfy, if covered in food a little, Carter was waiting to get her math test back. Her teacher couldn't seem to go fast enough, slowly weaving through the desks, slapping a graded test down on them. Finally, he got to her. She was disappointed to find yet another D.

She groaned inwardly. _Not again._

The bell rung just as the teacher passed out the last test. "Class, please complete the next lesson by tomorrow!" He called as his students scrambled out of the room.

"Carter," He stopped the teen before she could slip away. "I need to talk to you for just a minute."

"Uh, of course." She nodded.

He sat down at his desk before pulling a pad of paper out of one of the drawers. "As you know, you're grades have not been the best. But since it is the beginning of the year, I think we can bring them up a bit. I want you to take this note to your parent, and we'll have a meeting to figure out how to bring your grades up. Alright?" He smiled, handing her the note.

"Alright. I'll make sure to get it to him." Carter nodded with a small smile.

"Alright then, have a good day. I will see you tomorrow."

"Thank you." She replied before leaving the room.

Looking down at the note, she frowned. _I'm really not in the mood for a lecture from Bruce tonight._ Huffing slightly, she stuffed the note in her backpack.

She met Laynie, Peter, Wade and James at the road, where they regularly met their ride.

Wade and Laynie were already reliving the "epic" tale of Flash's "brutal whipping".

"Are you going to present the story to Aunt May and your dad like that?"

They both turned like deer in a set of headlights, the laughter drained out of them. With Laynie's wet, still kind of milky, hair, and the bruise blooming on Wade's cheek, they made a hilarious sight.

"Didn't think so," Peter said with a shake of his head.

"Tony's going to kill me," Laynie muttered.

"But hey, look at the bright side, at least I won't get in trouble for fighting this time." Carter grinned.

Laynie groaned. "I have a perfect reputation! They're going to disown me!"

Carter patted her friend's shoulder sympathetically. "It'll be alright. Trust me, I've been through this a million times."

Laynie dramatically threw herself over her friend, mumbling something into her shoulder.

Wade muttered, "Girls." He still couldn't wipe the grin off his face.

Carter just patted the top of Laynie's head. "There, there."

A few minutes later, Pepper pulled up to pick up the five teens.

Pepper gasped when she saw Laynie and Wade. "What happened to you two?"

"Well..." Laynie started nervously.

"We got into a fight." Wade interrupted, "Well, technically Laynie did but I helped later on." He explained.

"What!" Pepper exclaimed. "Why?"

"Oh you know, for one reason or another Laynie decided it would be a good idea to take on one of the biggest bullies in school." Peter said accusingly.

"Laynie? This Laynie? Our Laynie got into a fight? How did that happen?" Pepper was craning her neck to see Laynie in the back seat.

Laynie sent Peter a glare. "I was trying to stand up for Peter. Flash is always picking on him, but Peter is just a skinny little nerd kid." She said each of the words a little mockingly.

Peter glared right back, and Pepper could only flick her gaze between the two of them for a moment. "We're discussing this with your father as soon as we get home. Boys, you're still welcome for dinner, but Laynie might be absent for a while."

"We're okay with it if you are Miss Potts."

"Right then. Everybody buckle up."

Pepper had everyone home in record time, and practically dragged Laynie upstairs. Even on the elevator she didn't release her.

"Wade, you too. I want to make sure the story's accurate."

Wade fell into step behind Pepper, too afraid of her "scary mom voice" to do anything else.

They wound up in Tony and Bruce's lab, where they were in the middle of a discussion over a vial of silver liquid.

"Is that Carter's?" Laynie asked, bringing the trio to the attention of the scientists.

Bruce blinked a few times. "Yes. Should I...?"

Pepper gave him a short nod, and Bruce had the vial put away in seconds.

Tony gave the air a sniff as he stood, coming to hug his two ladies. "Someone smells like sour milk."

Laynie put her hand in the air. "That would be me."

"God, you two, what happened?" Tony fingered Laynie's stringy hair while he stared at Wade's bruised face.

"I picked a fight with the school bully. I was defending Peter, and Wade was defending me. Flash poured milk in my hair."

Tony made a face. "I'm strangely proud and disgusted at the same time. He poured milk in your hair?"

"Tony," Pepper admonished.

"And Wade gave him a wedgie."

"You kids are insane!"

"Tony! Don't encourage her. I want to hear the whole story, right now."

"Okay, but it's kind of long. So Flash was picking on Peter but I didn't like that so I was picking on him and then he provoked me, and I kind of hit him with my cafeteria tray. _Then_ he threatened me and walked off but before he walked off he dumped his tray of food into my lap which really wasn't cool because we had meatloaf and pudding and applesauce today so it was really gross and so I grabbed a handful of it and threw it at the back of his head. It was funny for like three seconds because it dripped into his jacket but then he poured Peter's milk in my hair which was actually not cool at all and so I punched him in the nose a little bit. And he was totally going to punch me back but Wade gave him an atomic wedgie and we got called into the principal's office. Um, the end."

Tony's jaw completely dropped, Wade was trying his absolute hardest not to laugh, and Pepper just walked upstairs, completely done.

"Have fun with that," she called over her shoulder.

Tony sighed. "Wilson, may I speak to my daughter alone?"

"Um... sure." He walked upstairs, giving the father and daughter duo some privacy.

"So, you care to tell me what you were thinking when you started that fight today?" Tony asked Laynie.

Laynie plopped down in the chair Bruce had previously occupied, sighing. "I didn't really start the fight. I was defending Peter."

"Whatever it was, couldn't you have gone to a teacher before doing something rash?" Tony asked.

Laynie let out a short laugh. "I'm sorry, you obviously never attended public school. Teachers don't _care_ , Tony. They don't care until someone's hurt, and I've seen enough of that for one lifetime. I don't know what I was thinking, okay? Natasha and Steve are training me to react quickly, and I did. He was going to hit Peter."

"I'm just trying to understand. You never do stuff like this. You're the one who's always telling Carter to ignore the bullies, aren't you?" Tony said in exasperation.

Laynie put her sour-smelling head on the table, groaning. "It's different now Dad. I've seen Walter and I've seen Hammer and Parks, and Tammy even. I've seen Flash beat other kids half his size before and I can't let him get away with that. These people are going to grow up to be abusive to everyone they know. Flash will be Walter and god knows what else!"

Laynie muttered something to herself, then propped her chin on the table to look at Tony.

"I just want to make a difference."

Tony sat down heavily and stared at his daughter. "I can't tell you what you did was wrong. But I can't let it happen again. There's a certain superhero code that we Avengers try to follow. We pick on those our own size, the ones who are prepared to fight us. I think that it's unfair of you to fight Flash, since he's not going to fight you. He had that shred of dignity, right?"

"Barely."

"Then don't fight him. Defend yourself if you need to, but ignore him beyond that. Listen, Laynie, I know what you want to do. I know that I probably made a mistake, showing you that suit, but you have to wait for it."

"Dad, I don't want to wait. You didn't have to wait!"

"I had to earn my suit!"

Laynie fell back into the chair, looking anywhere but at her father.

He sighed and pulled a hand over his face. "You know I can't let you into the city... But..."

Laynie perked up. "But?"

"But we can sneak your suit into the training floor tonight. Okay?"

Laynie's eyes flew open wide as she jumped up and gave her dad a hug.

"Thank you so much!"

Tony pushed her away as his eyes began watering. "Yeah, yeah, I'm the best dad ever. Take a shower, will you?"

Carter was sitting in the living room with Peter when Wade came upstairs.

"Hey, how'd it go downstairs?" Carter asked.

Wade shrugged. "Tony asked me to come up here so they could talk privately."

"Hm, well I'm sure they'll work it out." Carter smiled. "I'll be right back. I'm gonna put my backpack away." She pulled her backpack over her shoulder and started her walk to the elevator. She bumped into Bruce on the way there.

"Hey Carter," he smiled when he saw her.

"Oh hi." Carter greeted.

There was a moment of silence, before Bruce asked about her day.

"It was fine, up until Laynie's fight today. I'm guessing you heard about that though." Carter said.

"Actually no, maybe you can tell me about it later." Bruce suggested.

"Uh yeah, sure." Carter nodded. She considered telling Bruce about the note, but decided she rather not. "Well, I was just heading upstairs to put my stuff away, so..." She started backing up to the elevator.

"Oh, okay." Bruce's smile wavered.

Carter nodded awkwardly before turning on her heel and entering the elevator.

Bruce was about to walk away too, but noticed a piece of paper fly out of her backpack.

He bent down to pick it up. "Carter, you dropped th-" Looking up, he saw that the elevator was already on it's way up.

He sighed and looked down at the paper in his hand, he flipped it over only to find some crude handwriting on the back.

"Hm..." Reading it carefully, he was surprised to find that it was a note from her math teacher. _What is this?_ The note explained that she was failing in math.

He sighed, "I suppose I'll have to talk to her about this later." Feeling a little disappointed in his daughter, he walked to the living room.

It wasn't long before everyone was called to the dining room for dinner. Clint and Natasha were the first down, while Bruce and Tony parted to retrieve Cap and Pepper, respectively. Oddly enough, Thor was still in Asgard, doing who knows what.

Natasha and Clint took their seats with Carter and her two friends, already seated. It seemed that nobody really knew where Laynie had gone.

"So, how was school today?" Natasha asked the three teens.

"Oh... you know, the usual." Carter said, mind briefly flashing back to the almost food fight earlier that day. "Classes and teachers and other students..."

Clint snorted. "Really, never would've guessed that."

Carter rolled her eyes.

"Oh that's not all that happen-" Wade started, but was interrupted by Peter kicking his shin. "I mean, that's totally all that happened today. Yep."

Clint nearly rolled his eyes at the teenagers. "You know that whatever it is, we'll find out anyway?"

Laynie trotted down the stairs, still rubbing a towel all over her head. "The milk smell isn't going to come out, is it?"

Clint stared for a moment, then doubled over with laughter. "What the heck happened to you?"

She gave Clint a sour glare for as long as she could, before she too gave way to laughter. "I got into a fistfight with a boy. He wouldn't hit me, but he poured Peter's milk in my hair."

Clint laughed until everyone else had arrived at the table, when Pepper told him to shut up. Obviously, she didn't think it was as funny as everyone else.

"Baking soda should get that smell out of your hair," Bruce said quietly.

"How would you know?"

He quirked an eyebrow. "One, I'm a scientist. _Two_ ," he waved his fork for emphasis, "I have more hair than you do, Laynie."

She nodded slowly. "Both valid points. Baking soda it is."

Dinner was loud and rowdy, as anything was with the Avengers. Including a luxurious dessert of several pints of ice cream, the meal lasted almost two hours.

Wade and Peter departed after a round of Wii sports, claiming Aunt May would shoot them if they weren't home soon. Laynie, at least, knew that wasn't the truth. He looked as itchy to get into his suit as she felt.

Just before Laynie and Carter turned in for the night, Bruce rose from his chair and gave Carter a level gaze.

"Carter, can we talk for a minute?"

Carter gave a deer-in-the-headlights look to Laynie, then nodded to her adoptive father.

Bruce led Carter to the kitchen where they could talk in private.

"So, what's this about?" Carter asked nervously.

"I just wanted to make sure everything's okay at school. You had a rough time last year, and we just haven't had time to talk with James and all around." He smiled as he eased into a stool at the island in the center of the kitchen.

Carter slid into the seat across from him. "Yeah, everything's fine. Just boring." She smiled.

Bruce took his glasses off and put them on the counter, staring at them with a tired gaze. "Are you sure there's nothing we need to discuss?"

Carter was starting to get suspicious. _Is this about the note? Did the school call him?_ "Yes, I'm sure." She said with a firm nod.

Bruce sighed. "Carter, sit down. You have explaining to do."

As Carter sat, Bruce pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket and smoothed it out on the counter in front of her.

"But... that was in my backpack..." She bit her lip, "How did you get it?"

"Don't go assuming. It fell out of your backpack as you were going upstairs. Why would you lie to me about it?"

"I wasn't lying, I just hadn't told you yet." She mumbled.

"When were you going to tell me? Hm? Carter, this is unacceptable."

"It's just a stupid teacher's note." Carter huffed. "I don't see why you're making a big deal about it."

"Because you lied. You were going to hide it from me, and then you lied. I just want to understand why."

"Oh my gosh, Bruce, it was one lie. What's your problem?" Carter glared at him.

Bruce frowned. "'What's my problem?' My problem is that you know better than this. That's my problem."

Carter growled. "Look, I get that you're trying to play father or something, really I get it. But, a word of advice... don't. I don't need a new father."

Bruce was speechless. He looked at her in utter shock.

"And on that happy note, I'm going to bed. So, goodnight." Carter said coldly, before walking away.

Bruce opened his mouth to call after her, but nothing came out.

Why, when she had wanted him only months ago, would she say something like that? Why would she say that?

When Carter stormed into her shared apartment, Laynie gave her a single glance and told herself not to ask. Of course, she practiced self-preservation less and less, so she asked anyway.

"Is everything okay with Bruce?"

"It's fine. Don't worry about it." Carter snapped at her, before stepping into her room and slamming her door.

"Dude, who peed in your Cheerios?" Laynie called after her.

* * *

Edited 7/18/2015


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning, Carter was woken by an overly excited teen by the name of Wade Wilson slamming her door open.

She groaned. "Wade, what do you want?"

"Peter, Laynie, and I are going out and you should come." He grinned, before pulling her off the bed.

"Ah!" Carter yelped. "Wade!" She threw a pillow at him, but he was already out the door.

She sighed, but got dressed anyway. She knew that Wade wouldn't leave her alone until she agreed to come with them.

A while later, she came out fully dressed. "Morning." She greeted the three teens in the living room.

Peter and Wade greeted back, Laynie on the other hand gave her a simple nod.

Carter was confused at first at her strange behavior, but then she remembered what had happened the night before. She turned to Wade and Peter, "Guys, could you give us a minute. I need to talk to Laynie."

"Oh sure." Peter nodded, "Come on, Wade." He dragged Wade to the elevator.

"Hey Laynie," Carter started. "I just wanted to tell you... I'm sorry about last night. I shouldn't have gotten mad at you."

"What?" Laynie asked.

Carter blinked, then noticed how glassy her friend's eyes were. "How late did you stay up?"

She rubbed her eyes and then laughed a little. "I slept for two hours. Me and Tony were watching TV."

Carter shook her head. "That's special. So you aren't angry?"

"Nah, I'm used to you being moody."

Laynie laughed when Carter half-heartedly punched her arm.

"C'mon, Wade's going to chew the drywall off if we don't get going."

The moment the two girls stepped off the elevator they were dragged away by Wade.

"Wade, where exactly are we going?" Carter asked.

"A magical place," he said. His eyes were widened to a creepy proportion.

"Taco Bell," Peter deadpanned.

"Breakfast of champions," Laynie grunted. "I'm sure all late night superheroes breakfast there."

Peter only snorted. "Mostly, we prefer to sleep through breakfast."

"I'm with you there, dude." Carter agreed, linking arms with Peter.

A short walk later and they stood in front of Taco Bell.

"You know, I kinda assumed this 'magical place' would look less like a dump." Carter looked on the establishment with disgust.

Wade gasped. "You take that back!"

Laynie wrinkled her nose. "Yeah, I kinda have to agree. Can't we go somewhere else for breakfast?"

"You weirdos do what you will," Wade said dramatically. "But I came here for tacos and I will not leave without them!"

"Are you sure we won't get food poisoning?" Carter whispered to Peter.

"Not really."

Carter nodded, "Great..."

Once all had ordered and collected their bags of food, Wade shelled out some cash (SHIELD issued), and they made the short walk to the tower.

"Yo JARVIS," Laynie called as she flopped on the couch with a burrito.

" _Yes Miss Stark_?"

"Is my dad up yet?"

" _Yes ma'am. He never went to sleep, and is still working on the repairs to your suit._ "

Laynie froze like a deer in the headlights under the gazes of her three friends. If deer ate beef and potato burritos, that is.

"Um, did JARVIS just say repairs?"

Laynie wanted nothing but to bury her face in the couch and become a permanent fixture of the stuffing.

"I knocked it over."

" _However, the repairs to the training area have been completed by a team of DUMB-E bots._ "

Peter scoffed. "Oh, right, you just knocked it over."

"Tony let me fly it around and shoot at stuff with the beams and I crashed into walls and only slept for two hours because I want to be a superhero, okay?"

"I thought Tony wasn't going to let you use the suit until you were older?" Carter asked.

"I know, but there's no reason I shouldn't be practicing, right? He didn't really learn how to fly his suit in a day."

Carter shrugged. "You've got a point there."

"Wait, so Tony built you your own Iron Man suit?" Peter asked incredulously.

Laynie bit her lip a moment before answering. "Yeah. It's pretty cool actually."

"Well, try not to kill yourself." Carter told her friend.

"Or otherwise injure anybody," Wade added.

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence guys. Don't you have tacos to eat or something?"

The group dropped the conversation in favor of eating their tacos.

"So, anything else planned for today?" Carter asked.

"Napping would be good," Laynie mused from the couch.

"Games. Video games, preferably the most intense variety you have."

"Training, actually." Peter said, elbowing Wade. "Wade has to go into SHIELD today for some training with some special agent he won't tell me about."

"Have fun with that. Meanwhile, I think I will spend my day sleeping and/or eating." Carter grinned.

"Nope, now Wade has to tell us about this secret agent," Laynie urged.

"Do not," he argued, mouth full of taco.

"Uh-huh. Once someone says something I'm curious about I'll never leave you alone," Laynie said. She moved to the other end of the couch, giving Wade her full attention.

Wade looked to Carter for guidance, but she only shook her head.

"She's not kidding."

"You should probably tell her now, it will be easier for everyone in the long run," Peter suggested.

"I'm not telling. It's... Top secret. Yep. Level six stuff." For a fleeting moment, Wade was satisfied with his answer.

Laynie and Carter exchanged a glance, and burst into laughter.

"Our parents were level seven field agents. They were in the business of preventing international disasters, not meeting with 'secret agents'. Unless you're going to stop the next terrorist attack, it's not level six." Laynie finished her short speech by wiping a tear from the corner of her eye, letting out one last laugh.

"I really, really hope you're not involved in any level six stuff. That would end badly for everyone." Carter chuckled.

Peter laughed in surprise that Carter would dare go there, until Wade sent him a silencing glare.

"Okay it might not be level six but it is secret and I'm not telling."

"I don't believe you're going to SHIELD. You're going on a date or something, aren't you?"

Wade's face began turning red as he leaned in toward Laynie and shouted, "I am not!"

"Then what are you doing? Tell meee," Laynie begged. Her tired eyes were oblivious to Wade's growing anger.

"Laynie, just let it go." Carter stretched out on the floor. "We all have our secrets."

Laynie sat back in the couch and gave Carter a look.

"Yeah, video games sound great," Peter said to break the tension.

Just as the game system was warming up, the elevator opened up to Bruce. He looked like he had gotten about as much sleep as Laynie, and hadn't even bothered to get dressed.

"Oh," he said as he stepped out of the elevator. "I didn't know you two were over."

Wade gave Bruce a salute, mostly neglecting him in favor of the video game. Peter gave him a nod and a wave, also enveloped in the game.

"What's hanging Brucey?" Laynie asked. She seemed to be the only one actually paying attention.

"I need to talk to Carter for a minute."

Laynie's eyes widened a little. "Well, be our guest."

"What do you need, Bruce?" Carter asked from her seat on the floor.

"Do you want to do this here or talk privately?"

"Well, if it's about what I think it is, I guess we should do it privately." Carter huffed and removed herself from the floor.

Laynie, Peter, and Wade shared a look of concern, but chose not to get involved.

Carter silently led Bruce to her room and shut the door behind the both of them.

"What do you want?"

Bruce leaned against the door, frowning. "I wanted to clarify a few things. I would like you to let me say my piece before you say yours, alright?"

Carter gave a short nod.

"Alright. Firstly, I want you to know I care for you tremendously. You're my daughter, at least in my eyes. But I have to be a parent to you, it doesn't matter what you see me as. I'm not going to punish you for anything to do with last night. Maybe it's my fault..." He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair. "If you don't bring your grade up, there will be repercussions. I'm willing to help any way I can, but you have to bring that grade up, okay?"

Carter rolled her eyes. "And what makes you think I'm just going to be okay with any 'repercussions' you decide to give me if I don't bring my grade up?"

"Carter, I'm your legal guardian whether you like it or not. Didn't you want to be adopted?" His voice was almost pleading.

"No, I really didn't." Carter deadpanned.

"Wha-" Bruce started.

"No, stop. It's my turn." Carter snapped. "I didn't _want_ to be adopted. I didn't _want_ my parents to die. And I definitely didn't _want_ to be an orphan. I know it's surprising, but I didn't actually want any of this. What I _want_ , is to be back at my home, with my parents. But that's not going to happen."

Bruce's mouth hung open a moment, completely taken aback by her short speech.

"Carter, I..." He looked down, not able to hold eye contact with her any longer. He shook his head, reaching for the doorknob. "I obviously can't help you."

Bruce evacuated the apartment, and Laynie filled the doorway just as quickly.

"What did you do?" She asked, concerned for Bruce more than her friend.

Carter sat quietly on her bed. She looked up at her friend, eyes filled to the brim with tears. "Laynie, I just... I don't think I can talk about it right now."

"Bruce looked like he was going to cry."

"I don't want to talk about it!"

Laynie recoiled, glancing over her shoulder at their friends in the living room.

Carter stammered out an apology, rubbing at her eyes. "I didnt mean to snap at you. Do-do you think you could stay? Please?"

Laynie stuck her head outside the room and shouted at the boys not to break anything, then shut the door.

"What did you say to Bruce?

Carter laughed mirthlessly. "I said a lot of things. Basically...I said I didn't want to be here and I didn't want him." She bit her lip. "I know I shouldn't have said it, but... it's partly true. And it's also not true." Burying her face in her hands, she mumbled, "I just don't know anymore."

Laynie patted her on the back, albeit a little awkwardly. "Let us remember that I'm not a tactful person as I recommend you take the standing offer for a counseling session or two? I know it seems weird... But you know, I went to a couple after the dreams... Nightmares. And it kinda helped."

Carter sighed. "...I'll think about it."

Laynie smiled lightly.

"Until then, do you think we could grab some ice cream and watch some movies? I'd kinda like it if my whole Saturday wasn't ruined." She looked at Laynie nervously. "But, only if you want to. I'd understand if you'd want to hang out with Peter and Wade."

"Nah, they've got stuff to do anyway. I'll clear out the boys, you get the ice cream." Laynie stopped just short of leaving the room and turned around. "Also, I am going to fall asleep within the first twenty minutes of any movie."

After sending the boys away and grabbing the ice cream, the girls spent the rest of the day eating, sleeping, and watching a multitude of movies ranging anywhere from Disney to romantic comedies.

They had just finished their last movie and were about to go to bed when one of their windows popped open.

"Carter..." Laynie said with wide eyes. "I think someone's trying to break in."

"There's no way. We're like, fifty stories up!"

Carter grabbed a nearby pillow and cautiously made her way over to the window. Laynie followed close behind just in case her friend was attacked.

Carter was about to slam the window shut when Wade popped his head in. "Wade!" She exclaimed. "What is wrong with you? You shouldn't be sneaking around like that!"

"Yeah, yeah." He hopped inside to join the two girls. "I'm going for some late night tacos, and you two are coming with me," he announced.

"Um, what?" Carter questioned.

Wade got closer, and raised his voice. "Ta-cos. At midnight. C'mon."

"I'm in." Laynie began looking for shoes and a hoodie.

Carter groaned. "I'm already in enough trouble as is without sneaking out after curfew. Do we really have to do this now?" Despite her words, Carter went in search of her shoes as well, knowing she'd be dragged along whether she wanted to go or not.

Wade led the two through the streets of New York as if he had been living there his entire life, and eventually picked a hole-in-the-wall restaurant out of the crowd. They sat down for about thirty minutes, talking very little until they had devoured their tacos.

"How did your meeting with Mr. Secret Agent go?" Laynie asked.

"It was fine."

There was an underlying tone in his voice that made the girls share a look of concern.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Carter asked.

He shrugged. "I'm good actually. How was your marathon?"

"It was fine. I think I slept through half of it. So, where's Peter?"

Wade pointed outside. "He'll probably only stay out until two since tomorrow's school."

"Oh yeah, because that's totally okay. Isn't he ever tired?" Carter asked

"He's freaking beat. But he really likes hanging out with you guys."

Carter just shook her head. "I don't know how he does it. If I stayed out that late I would not be getting up the next morning."

"I can handle being on my phone that late, but I don't know if I could fight crime until two and be in homeroom by six." Laynie shook her head, staring out the window. "It would be difficult."

"Yeah, no thank you." Carter agreed. Checking her phone, Carter said, "We really need to get back to the Tower."

Wade frowned. "Yeah, let's go."

Laynie and Carter were shocked to have gotten away with staying out late and not being caught, but they weren't about to complain. However, they both loudly protested when Wade threw himself across the couch and said goodnight.

"You cannot sleep there. I don't know about Bruce, but my dad would kill us. Completely dead."

Wade looked up at them with the biggest puppy dog eyes, but neither of them cracked.

Laynie put her shoes back on and gestured toward the door. "Come on, I'll walk you downstairs."

Both of them said goodnight to Carter as she crawled to bed, then headed downstairs.

On the elevator, Laynie sniffed and said, "I've been to therapy too, you know." She held back her sly smile when Wade startled and glared.

"It- it was a meeting with- about this dude... How did you know?"

"Lucky guess. I know it feels embarrassing. It's awkward."

Wade rubbed a hand over his chin. "Yeah. Why- um, should I ask?"

Laynie held up her wrist and let her friend examine the scars. "Over the summer I was kidnapped, held prisoner by a shackle on this wrist. I ripped the skin off of the muscle and bone trying to escape. With some cracked ribs and a second grade concussion, too."

She paused as the two stepped off the elevator and walks outside. In the cool New York evening, with people bustling by, it was easier for her to talk.

"It was more mental than physical scarring, but my wrist still bugs me. I was having really bad nightmares, paranoia and all. That, combined with my stint in foster care and the circumstances of my mom's death... Tony kind of forced me to go to a few therapy sessions."

Wade put his hands in his pockets, looking anywhere but the girl beside him. "Did it work?"

"No. I'm still having nightmares, but I can control myself better. I know I'm safe with my dad, and I'm- I'm alive still, y'know? I feel like if I can keep living after that, I'll be okay."

"But you said training was the only thing keeping you sane."

"I'm dramatic. I'm still not one hundred percent, but I don't think I'll be having any emotional breakdowns."

"How do you forget?"

Laynie looked up at Wade and sighed. "I'll never forget. The things that I've seen and experienced this last year have changed me, but it's human nature. We're going to be okay."

Wade smirked. "You're so sure about that?"

Laynie elbowed him. "I am. Carter, you, me, Peter, we're screwed up but we'll get by."

"I'm holding you to that."

"Go ahead. I'll see you at school Wade." Laynie gave him a short smile and a wave, then went inside.

 _ **Author's notes:**_

 _ **Lartovio:** Hi guys! Sorry about not updating last week, both of us forgot! Thank you so much for the reviews and support!_

 _Quick message pertaining to this chapter: Depression is real crap, guys. If you're struggling, find help. Tell someone. Don't drown alone, because there are others out there experiencing the same things as you. You are loved._


	11. Chapter 11

After an early wake up call, courtesy of JARVIS, Laynie and Carter were both sitting at the table eating breakfast. Laynie was exhausted, after having stayed up way too late two nights in a row. Carter wasn't much better off.

Tony sauntered into the kitchen, banging around until he found a clean coffee mug. "Morning, ladies."

"Morning Tony," Carter mumbled tiredly.

Laynie smiled. "Hey dad."

Tony nodded in reply as he grabbed some coffee and took a seat at the table. They sat in silence while he sipped at his coffee and the girls downed their breakfast.

"So, where'd you guys go with Wade last night?" he asked suddenly.

Carter inhaled sharply and started to choke on the cereal that was in her mouth.

Laynie paused as she was just about to take a bite of waffle. She chuckled nervously, lowering her fork. "What're you talking about? Carter and I were here all night, watching movies."

Tony laughed and set his coffee down. "What was it that he said, JARVIS?"

" _Midnight tacos, sir._ "

Laynie glared at the ceiling as if it were the source of all the evil in the world. "JARVIS is a filthy liar."

"JARVIS is the only honest person at the table," Tony said with an easy smile. "So how can I torment you if I promise not to tell Pepper and Bruce?"

Carter groaned. "It's too early for this."

"Attack when the enemy is weakened, they always say."

"Who's they?" Laynie cried. "I'm your daughter!"

Tony leaned back in his chair and shrugged. "If you guys really don't care that two of the strictest parental figures in the tower know about 'midnight tacos' then I'll just have JARVIS relay the video feed."

Carter looked at Tony with wide eyes. "Oh please don't, I am begging you. I will do anything. _Anything_." She pleaded with him.

Tony grinned like a cat. "Start making me offers, dear Carter."

"Just tell me what you want me to do and I'll do it!" Carter answered. "Just please, please, _please_ , don't tell Bruce."

Tony thought long and hard, making a big show of it.

"Dad, I'll tell Pepper what you let me do."

It was Tony's turn to pale and shake in his boots. The girls' sneaking out was absolutely nothing when pitched against the idea of Laynie in any kind of high tech, weaponized suit of armor. Pepper would turn him into a pile of ashes and some facial hair.

"I think we can call it even. Have a good day at school munchkins." Tony was up and gone just like that.

Carter sighed in relief. "I don't know what you said, but thank you."

After finishing breakfast they were driven to school by Steve, as Pepper had already left for work.

"There better not be anymore fights!" He yelled out the window as they were walking up to the front door.

"Okay Steve!" Carter said exasperatedly.

After an entire car ride of lectures, the girls were fleeing.

"And another thing-"

"Goodbye Steve!" Laynie cut him off and dragged Carter inside.

"Geez, who knew he could talk so much," Carter groaned. "How does the freedom of our nation have anything to do with Wade giving Flash a wedgie?"

"Right?" Laynie laughed.

"Hey guys," Peter called across the crowd of students.

Wade waved, already bounding toward them. "Hi!"

Peter and Wade migrated toward the girls as they pulled books out of their lockers.

Laynie involuntarily gasped when she looked up. She grabbed Peter on either side of the face and pulled him to her level to examine the gash running from his cheekbone to his hairline. There was a fair amount of bruising around it, too.

"Peter, what happened?"

He pulled his face away from Laynie and rubbed his cheek. "Not here."

"Do you need help? Because I can get my dad-"

"Laynie, it's okay." He laughed a little. "But if you happen to know anyone who likes sewing, we can talk.

Laynie frowned and shouldered her backpack. "Are you sure you don't have a concussion or anything?"

"Nah, it was a clean cut. Doesn't even hurt."

Wade put a single finger over the cut, and Peter flinched away as if he'd been electrocuted.

"Doesn't hurt. Right."

Carter grimaced, "You probably should get that checked out or something."

"Dude, you shoulda seen it last night. He was bleeding all over the place," Wade said. "Not very pretty."

Laynie made a face. "I agree with Carter. Also, gross."

"Come on, you're not squeamish, are you?"

She continued to scrunch her face up, shouldering her backpack and making for homeroom. "Only of my own blood."

"It'll be fine." Peter insisted.

Carter frowned. "What if it gets infected?"

Peter turned around and gave them both a stare as he continued to walk backwards. "I promise, it will be fine." He turned and kept walking down the hallway, mumlbing to himself, "How many Aunt Mays do I have now?"

Laynie slugged him in the arm, then turned off at homeroom. "Have a good day, suckers."

Carter followed behind her friend. Halfway in the classroom, she caught sight of James with a group of friends she didn't know. As he passed, she reached out and grabbed his sleeve. "Hey!" She smiled.

He stopped and smiled back. "Hey." He gave a quick peck on the lips and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, looking down at her while he spoke. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. What about you?" Carter looked up at him.

"I'm good." He grinned.

Carter shook her head. "Well come on, we shouldn't be late for class." She grabbed his hand and dragged him to their homeroom.

A few hours later, the five teens were meeting for lunch.

"So, um, anyone else notice how Flash has been avoiding us?" Carter wondered aloud.

Wade almost choked on his lunch. Peter thumped him on the back, laughing.

"Yeah. It's pretty nice actually," he said, grinning pointedly at Laynie.

Laynie flexed and sighed. "Well, no need to thank me."

Wade blinked at her. "Wasn't it me that got in the fistfight?"

Laynie stuck her tongue out at him.

James shook his head. "You guys are all crazy. Flash is starting to spread rumors, you know."

"Ah, it's harmless. Nobody trusts a word he says," Laynie dismissed it with a wave of the hand.

"He's said some bad stuff about you, Laynie."

She gave James a concerned glance, then shrugged and turned her attention back to the food in front of her. "It can't be that bad. Let's not talk about it, okay?"

A silence fell over them. It was brief though as Peter brought up the taco incident from last night.

"So, Wade told me you guys went out for tacos at like midnight last night. How did you get your parents to let you do that?" He asked.

"Aha, about that..."

"We didn't exactly tell them we were going..." Carter explained.

"Oh I'm sure that went over well," Peter snickered. "Which parent killed you?"

"Surprisingly, none of them. Tony was the only one who found out and after Laynie said something to him, he said we were even and that he wouldn't tell anyone." Carter shrugged.

"Blackmail is a beautiful thing, my friends."

"Oh, we meant to ask, do you guys want to come over for dinner Thursday?" Carter asked the three boys, "Pepper told us to ask."

"Oh, right, because people just go to Avengers Tower and have dinner with the fam." Peter spread his hands. "What kind of trick question is that?"

Carter stuck her tongue out at him. "Not our problem, we're just the messengers."

James, having known the girls for much longer, accepted the invitation with more grace. "Is it a parents included thing?"

"Sure! Pepper loves having people over. The more the merrier. Peter, you should bring Aunt May too."

Peter shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea. You guys have fun without us."

Wade elbowed him. " _I'll_ take Aunt May to dinner."

Carter laughed. "Come on, Peter. It'll be fun!"

"I can't believe the things you dorks talk me into."

Carter and Laynie erupted into laughter.

"This will be the least of it, trust me," Laynie laughed.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Notes:**

 **Lartovio:** Hi guys! Sorry we've not been updating. We're back now, and we intend to make up for lost time! Thanks for the continued support, you guys! :D

* * *

"Carter!" Pepper yelled into the living room. "I need your help!"

"Yeah?" Carter jumped up from the couch, leaving the TV on, and went for the kitchen.

Pepper buzzed around the kitchen with Steve, who had helped her make dinner that evening. Steve had done most of the cooking, while Pepper did the stressing and micro-managing. One does not become the CEO of an internationally successful company by being docile, that's for sure.

Carter stood awkwardly amidst the chaos. "How can I help?"

"I don't know," Pepper said, leaning against the counter with a sigh. "Can you set the table?"

"Sure."

Carter climbed up on the counter to get to the cabinet that held the plates. She underestimated how heavy the stack of plates were and almost dropped them as she pulled them out. Luckily, Clint passed through the kitchen at the right time and caught the plates that fell from her arms.

"Careful." He warned.

"Thanks." Carter smiled as he helped her down off the table.

"I don't get why we can't just order take out," Clint grumbled, watching everyone buzz around.

"Because we're having guests tonight." Pepper answered exasperatedly. "And we have to impress them."

"We're the Avengers! If that's not impressive enough-"

Clint was cut short by the doorbell.

"And they're here," Pepper sighed.

Just as Pepper opened the door, welcoming in Peter, Wade and Aunt May, Laynie shot up the stairs like a bullet. Tony followed behind her, shouting. Laynie made a dive for her friends, pulling the two teenage boys in front of her like a curtain. Tony mounted the stairs red faced with his finger pointed in the general direction of his daughter, ready to give a full lecture.

The sight of elderly Mrs. Parker took the words right out of his mouth. He took a deep breath, wiped his hands off on his shirt, and approached Mrs. Parker with a forced smile.

"I bet Pepper needs help in the kitchen," Laynie exclaimed as she led the two boys away from the scene of the crime.

"Hi Wade, Hi Peter," Carter was grabbing silverware out of a nearby drawer. She walked back to the table and placed silverware with each plate.

"Please give me something to do," Laynie said. She turned around to Peter, grabbing his arms. "Peter. Will Aunt May take me in? I need a place to hide for a week or seven."

Carter told her to grab some glasses out of the cabinet. "So, why do you want to stay at Peter's?"

"Because Tony is going to kill me," she said intensely.

Wade cackled, taking the glasses and dispersing them between place settings. "What did you break?"

"I didn't break anything! I just asked..."

"What? The suspense is killing me, dear Laynie."

She glanced over her shoulder at Pepper, who was privately scolding Tony in the kitchen. She grabbed her friends and huddled in close before finally whispering, "I asked if he was ever going to marry Pepper. And when he didn't answer, I said he was too scared of her to propose."

Carter snorted. "Probably not the best thing you could've said." Carter felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Pulling it out, she saw it was a text from James. She quickly answered and put her phone away. "Hey Pepper, that was James, he said he wasn't able to come tonight."

Pepper sighed in relief, "I suppose that's one less person to worry about."

Carter sagged. "I was really looking forward to seeing James tonight." She thought for a moment. "Does it seem like he's avoiding me?"

Laynie shook her head, going behind Wade and straightening the place settings he messed up. "James is super busy. He's practically the star basketball player, and he's taking a bunch of other electives."

Carter nodded. "Yeah, yeah I'm sure that's it."

Finally finishing dinner, Pepper told the teens to sit down and called everyone else to the kitchen.

Aunt May greeted Carter when she entered. "Hello Carter, it's good to see you again."

"You too." Carter smiled.

Before taking his own seat, Steve held Aunt May's chair out for her. Tony did the same for his girlfriend, sending laser beam glares at his daughter across the table.

"I hope dinner's as good as it smells," Wade said, practically drooling on his plate.

"Oh thank you, Wade," Pepper said. She seemed almost surprised at the compliment.

"This looks wonderful," Aunt May agreed.

Pepper beamed. "Thank you."

Once everyone was eating, the flow of compliments in Pepper's direction was pretty much non-stop. Even Tony, who had spent his entire life on fine dining, couldn't help himself from seconds.

Halfway through the meal, Wade began babbling about the ingenuity of breakfast for dinner, and was mostly tuned out. Pepper had a quiet discussion with Aunt May at one end of the table, while Steve and Tony discussed something about Thor on the other side. Laynie slapped Wade as she strained to hear, but it seemed like the conversation had already ended.

Wade continued to wrap up his little speech. "Pancakes. They're absolutely inventive. Artwork, I daresay."

"I think you need to get out more," Laynie mumbled.

"Your face," he shot back.

"Is Thor okay?" Laynie asked her dad. She had seen the news, and was beginning to wonder if he was coming back. They all were.

"There were no reports of injury," Tony said quietly. "But we have no way of reaching him. SHIELD sent a team to Greenwich, they're handling the cleanup."

Tony was about to say more, but was interrupted by Pepper.

"Tony, why don't you ask about the trip now?" She asked.

He seemed a little annoyed at Pepper for changing the subject, but he redirected his attention to Mrs. Parker, anyway. "Mrs. Parker, we're going on a road trip later this year, to camp in the mountains, and we'd like your permission to take Peter and Wade with us."

Before Aunt May could respond, Carter and Laynie spoke up.

"Wait, road trip?" Laynie asked in confusion.

"Um yeah, when were you gonna tell us about this?" Carter looked at Tony.

The rest of the Avengers agreed, sharing glances with each other.

"We're telling you all now." Tony said, as if that made it better.

Laynie spread her hands. "Y'know what, I'm not even that surprised anymore."

Aunt May laughed. "The boys are more than welcome to go as long as they won't be trouble."

"None at all, Mrs. Parker. They're a pleasure to have around," Pepper said.

Tony narrowed his eyes at Wade as the kid preened.

Looking at her watch, Aunt May said, "I think we should be going." She looked at Peter and Wade. "It's a school night."

Peter and Wade nodded.

"Oh here, let me walk you out then." Pepper stood from her chair and walked with Aunt May to the living room.

Peter and Wade stayed behind a little longer to say goodbye to Carter and Laynie.

"So, apparently we're going on a road trip." Carter said awkwardly.

Laynie's expression suddenly became very intense. "I need a pillow pet."

Wade, still ignorant of pop culture, proceeded to google 'pillow pet' as Carter and Peter laughed nervously.

Laynie sighed, then looked up to Wade. "Are you sure you can't take me with you? My dad has it out for me now. He's gonna decapitate me."

Peter patted Laynie's head, to which she glared. "Decapitation is extreme. We'll see you at school in the morning, I promise."

Clint put a hand on Laynie's shoulder from out of nowhere, looking like he very much wanted to break Peter's hand. "What happened to your face?"

Peter blinked a few times. "Um, the cat."

Clint raised his eyebrows. "Mm, right. Well try not to provoke Garfield next time."

Peter watched Clint walk away with wary eyes. "I do not like him. He's too perceptive."

"We've decided he's the overprotective uncle," Carter said as they made for the exit. "We're working on it."

"Peter, Wade, come on." Aunt May called.

"Coming, Aunt May!" Peter shouted back.

Carter and Laynie walked with them to the living room.

"We'll see you guys tomorrow." Carter smiled.


	13. Chapter 13

Laynie, Carter and Wade were deep in the middle of an intense discussion. The girls had made it their job, over the past weeks, to make sure Wade was exposed to all the highlights of modern society. Somehow, they had thus far missed Final Fantasy.

This had led to discussions about the functionalities of gunblades, many pictures of chocobos and actual chickens, and exposure to the greatness of twentieth century gaming.

JARVIS paged them just as the PS2 began booting up. "Miss Stark, Miss Banner, Master Stark has requested you on the main floor right away."

Laynie groaned. "It'll have to wait for now. I bet they ordered pizza."

The three skipped down the stairs with expectations of food, and were instead met by a wall of tense silence.

Thor sat on a couch in the living room, staring wistfully out of a floor-to-ceiling window. Tucked under his arm was scientist Jane Foster, who was well known by the house, but had never met another Avenger.

Laynie was the first to break away from the stairs, walking to stand awkwardly in front of Thor. The man was not one to do things halfway, often being overly happy, or a giant stormcloud. He was never placid and quiet like this.

"You were gone a long time," she told Thor. She settled in on the arm of the couch, partially obstructing his view toward the window.

A big smile spread across his face, and a large hand ruffled Laynie's red hair. "That I was!" he boomed. The tone was empty, though. There was no happy ring to it. "Where is Carter?"

Wade decided to go back to the girl's room, expecting an awkward family reunion.

Carter walked out into the living room, "Hey Thor," She said with a wave and a smile. "It's been a while." Seating herself in the recliner by the couch.

Thor smiled back, though the smile did not reach his eyes.

A few moments of silence passed before Carter said, "We missed you."

His eyes began to well up with giant tears, but his facial expression didn't change. "I've missed you all as well."

Jane looked nothing but concerned for him.

"I bear news important to this team and its realm," he said solemnly.

"Go ahead Thor," Steve prompted.

"My mother has fallen in battle, protecting Jane and the ether. Additionally, while aiding in the defeat of the dark elf Malekith, my brother Loki fell in battle. They both died a hero's death." He paused to blink tears away, trying to pretend they weren't there. Nobody dared breathe a word. "The great AllFather Odin has granted my wish to remain a guardian of earth. If you will have me, I will be an Avenger and reside here permanently."

Carter and Laynie had heard about Loki's evils not only from their parents and the news, but also from the Avengers themselves. Although they knew that Loki was evil, they could understand how hard it was losing a family member.

Carter looked up at him sympathetically, "Why wouldn't we want you here? We'd miss you too much if you weren't here."

Tony stood up suddenly and clapped him on the shoulder. "What's ours is yours, big guy. Welcome to The Avengers." He paused. "Again."

Thor smiled, and looked to Jane. "Will you stay here? With me? Stark has some of the most advanced research labs in the world in this very building."

Her eyes became as big as dinner plates, looking between her boyfriend and Tony. "Really? I mean, I couldn't impose on you- I just, wow. This place is amazing and I know about the labs, trust me, but I couldn't."

Tony laughed. "You're welcome to stay."

Jane jumped out of her seat and shook his hand, thanking him and proceeding to ask about a thousand questions about the labs. Finally, Tony decided it was best to just give her a tour.

"Oh thank you so much. Thor, I'll be right back."

He gave her a smile, wandering off to the kitchen.

The room full of Avengers were silent, each giving each other worried glances. Thor was definitely not himself.

Layne sighed, pulling her buzzing phone out of her pocket. "Wade's going nuts up there."

"You go keep him from blowing up," Carter said. "I'll be right there.

Carter cautiously made her way into the kitchen, sitting at the counter beside him. "Thor, are you okay?"

"Time heals all wounds, my mother would tell me," he said grimly.

"Well that's not an answer," Carter said with an eye roll.

He pulled the top off of his box of honeybuns, probably prepared to eat all of them. "I suppose you are right. No, then. I am not okay."

Carter elbowed him and stole a honeybun. "I lost my mom too. It's hard. Actually, it's probably the worst pain I'll ever feel. But it does get better eventually."

Thor heaved a god-sized sigh. "How has life fared for you while I've been away, little one?"

Carter put on a smile and hesitated, trying to decide what she'd tell him. "Well, it's been alright. Laynie and I have made some new friends at school, you'll probably love them. Oh, I'm going out with James now."

"Going out?" he asked. "Is this a Midgard term for courting?"

She made a face and nodded slowly. "Yes? Sort of."

"I understand. Have Stark and Banner completed your cure?"

"I think they're making sure it won't kill me right now." Carter sighed, concentrating on her hand and letting it pass through the counter as she waved it around. "Laynie keeps telling me I shouldn't take it."

"Laynie vies for her own super powers. Perhaps it is none of my business, but I believe Laynie to be envious of you."

"Laynie? Jealous of me?" She thought about it for a second. "I guess it's possible."

"Will you do it regardless of her advice?"

Carter smirked. "When have you ever known me to listen to other people?"

He laughed, clapping her on the shoulder. It was the most genuine thing she'd seen of him yet. "I certainly am glad to be back, Carter. We must pass time together with one of those movies you adore."

She grinned. "Sure. I'm supposed to go over to Wade and Peter's tonight, but I'm all yours after that."

"Yes, Steve. We're fine." Carter sighed as she talked to the older man. "If anything, we can just stay here tonight. We'll be fine."

Laynie, Peter, and Wade watched as Carter paced the room.

"Just be careful. And stay inside!" Steve ordered.

"Goodbye Steve," Carter hung up before the man could argue. "He worries too much." She said to the other three teens.

Laynie laughed. "He wouldn't be Steve if he didn't."

Carter shrugged and plopped down on the floor, "So, what's the plan for tonight?"

"I just thought we would watch some movies, maybe study," Peter replied.

Moments after that was said, all the lights in the house flickered off.

"Or not," Laynie quipped.

"Hang on, I'll get the flashlights." Peter stood and went to the kitchen.

The sat in silence for a few minutes, listening to Peter rummage through the kitchen cabinets. They heard a bang and a string of swears before a disgruntled Peter came back with four flashlights.

"You okay, man?" Wade asked.

"Yeah, just ran into the table," he answered, rubbing his hip.

Carter scoffed. "Some superhero, you are."

"At least I do something with my life besides sit around and play video games," he countered.

The girl stuck out a tongue at him, but took the flashlight he held out to her graciously.

"So, what now?" Laynie asked.

They were all caught a little off guard when Wade suddenly shot off the couch and upstairs.

"Well, that was odd..." Peter said quietly.

"Should we be worried?" Carter asked.

Peter thought for a moment before shaking his head. "Probably not."

"That's reassuring." Laynie said sarcastically.

After a few minutes, Wade came crashing down the stairs. "I have something fun we can do!" He hopped on the couch and set a box onto the coffee table, grinning like a maniac.

"Oh heck no," Carter said quickly.

Peter raised an eyebrow. "Uh... when did you get that?"

"Just a few days ago," Wade answered, slightly proud of himself.

"We are not playing with an Ouija board," Carter said firmly. "It's not happening."

"Oh come on, don't be a bunch of sissies."

"There is a line between bravery and stupidity and you passed it a long time ago," Carter said blandly. "Put that thing away."

"Come on, Laynie, Peter?"

Neither jumped to defend him. "I kinda agree with Carter," Laynie said.

Wade huffed and dropped the lid on the box. "Alright, fine. The daughters of the Avengers and Spider-Man himself are too sissy to play with some ghosts. What do you guys want to do?"

"I have some board games from when I was a kid. Real board games." Peter shot Wade a look. "I'll be right back." He came down the stairs a few minutes later with Risk and Candy Land.

"That's it?" Carter asked.

"Unfortunately. Me and Uncle Ben liked to play Risk, but Aunt May always said it was too complicated, so we'd play Candy Land with her." He smiled a little. "That's all I've got."

That was the first Laynie and Carter had heard him speak about his Uncle so openly.

"Uh, not to burst your bubble or anything, but I'm not patient enough for Risk," Laynie sighed.

"And Candy Land isn't happening," Carter threw in.

Peter put the games under the coffee table and sat on the carpet. "Okay. Any other ideas?"

Wade raised his hand and launched into words. "Alright here's what I'm thinking! We start small with some Bloody Mary in the bathroom and then we move on to the ouija board. Then, we go a little bigger. You guys ever heard of the Midnight Man?" A mischevious grin spread across his face.

Laynie groaned. "I keep seeing it all over the internet. It sounds stupid. Like the ouija board," she said pointedly. "Can't we just make a blanket fort or something?"

Wade laughed. "Are you guys really so scared of this stuff? It's not like any of it's real."

"I'm not scared!" Laynie said defiantly, bowing up at her friend. "I just don't want to mess with it. If it isn't real, what's the point?"

Wade leaned back in his chair. "Alright, whatever. Dunno how you'll ever handle being a superhero," he mumbled under his breath.

Peter and Carter gave them wide-eyed stares. Laynie's cheeks turned pink in the yellow light given by the flashlights, and her fists balled up in her lap.

"Fine. Let's do it."

"Laynie, no." Carter shook her head with wide eyes.

"We're doing it."

"I'm begging you, Laynie, please," Carter pleaded.

"To the bathroom!" Wade announced and grabbed Carter's arm dragging her upstairs.

Carter struggled and shouted the whole way up, "No, no, no! I'm not doing it!"

Peter came up behind her and sighed, "If I have to get pulled into this stupidity, so do you." He grabbed her around the waist and carried her the rest of the way to the bathroom.

"Peter, I hate you."

He shrugged, "Somehow, I'll live."

They all squeezed into the one bathroom in the house. With only a single flashlight.

Carter looked at her phone and saw it was only nine o'clock. She sighed. She had a long night ahead of her.

"You guys ready?" Wade bounced up and down excitedly.

"I guess."

"Sure."

"No."

"Alright, let's do this then." He pressed the switch on the flashlight, leaving them alone in the darkness. "So, we say it three times, right?"

"Yes." Carter groaned.

Carter and Peter let Laynie and Wade's voices overpower theirs as they chanted toward the mirror, volume increasing with each syllable.

They waited a minute, and then Laynie laughed sharply, almost in relief. "Told you it wouldn't work."

Nobody said anything. Carter groped for the flashlight. "I can't find the light," she said, beginning to escalate.

"It's okay, just open the door," Peter suggested.

"It won't open!" Carter gasped. "It's stuck!"

"Wade?" Laynie whispered at the darkness. "Guys. Wade is gone. He was just right here beside me."

"Calm down," Peter said, reaching out until he touched both girls. He put their hands together and shoved them toward the corner. "Wade's in here, he's probably trying to scare us." There was the sound of his clammy hands touching the bathroom counter and walls as he searched for Wade. "Ah! I found the flashlight." He flicked it on, and the small room came to life.

Laynie and Carter let out a relieved sigh, but it didn't last long. The bathroom cabinets began rattling, until the entire sink was trembling above them. They all stared, certifiably scared.

The doors of the cabinets burst open with a distinctly female scream. All of them, Peter included, let out screams and shouts at various tones. It was followed by a short silence, and Wade's hysterical laughing.

"Oh my god, Wade!" Laynie kicked at the inside of the cabinet, hitting Wade square in the ribs.

An "ow" escaped between his laughs. He turned off the recording on his phone. "You guys- that was incredible. Thank you." Crawling out from under the cabinet, he unlocked the bathroom door and opened it. Carter ran out of the bathroom. Laynie stayed to hit him again.

When the three other teens came down to the living room, they found Carter glaring at the staircase.

"I swear, if you ever do something like that again, I will hurt you," Carter huffed.

Wade plastered a goofy grin on his face and started toward the couch, "Awe, come on. It was just a joke. Don't be angry."

A pillow hit him the face, promptly wiping the grin off.

He jumped over the back of the couch and landed in the seat next to Carter. "So, Ouija board next?"

"Um, Wade, why don't we give Carter a little time to calm down?" Peter suggested, "Besides, we haven't even had dinner yet. Shouldn't start chatting with spirits on an empty stomach, right?" He smiled.

At the mention of food, Wade had tuned Peter out and ran into the kitchen with Laynie following close behind.

Peter was about to join them, but noticed that Carter wasn't coming. He came back and sat next to her. "Hey, you okay?"

Carter nodded, "Yeah, I'm just a little shaken up, I guess."

"The great and fearless Carter Banner, shaken up? Impossible!" Peter teased.

She scoffed, "Trust me, the last thing I am is fearless."

Peter smiled slightly, "Don't worry about it too much. None of this is real anyway. The worst that will happen is that Wade will pull another stupid prank." He stood and pulled Carter up with him. "Come on, let's get something to eat before Wade inhales it all."

"Yeah, alright." Carter offered him a small smile, "Thanks Peter."

"No problem. Besides, I'm right here with you, I didn't want any part of this." Peter grinned. "With Wade's short attention span, he'll probably get bored with all this soon anyway."

Carter laughed, "It doesn't matter if he gets bored, Laynie's gonna make him see this through. He insulted her honor. She's not going to let him off that easy."

After dinner had been taken care of, the four friends returned to the living room. Nobody, not even Wade brought up the ouija board sitting in the middle of the room.

Laynie uneasily typed up a blog post on her phone. She was writing about nothing, trying to distract herself and calm her nerves. If Tony ever heard about the things they were doing that night, he might just kill her. But if Steve found out... there was no "maybe" about the situation.

She caught sight of her battery in the upper corner of her screen, and regretfully put away the device. If anybody called she wanted to be able to answer. Her eyes drifted toward the box on the table. She had said they would do it, and she knew it was only a matter of time before Wade began pressuring them again.

With stupid determination, she rolled off the couch and grabbed the box. When everyone ignored her, she pulled out the slip of instructions and began reading aloud.

"Always take it seriously and never treat it like a game. Only one person should ask questions at one time. Never ask questions regarding your death or the death of another. Spirits occasionally cannot or do not wish to answer certain questions so be respectful and do not ask the same question over and over again. Ask if the spirit is a good spirit, if the planchette goes to no, close the session. Do not use the board alone. Do not allow the planchette to count down through the numbers or backwards through the alphabet, to allow it do so could lead to the spirit escaping from the board. If the planchette goes to the four corners of board it means that you have an evil spirit. Also if the planchette repeatedly makes a figure eight, it means an evil spirit is trying to escape the board. Never ask a spirit to do anything outside the board, this gives the spirit permission to freely roam your house. Spirits don't always spell out full words. Sometimes they use abbreviations or misspell words. Always say goodbye when ending the session, saying goodbye is pushing away the energies that were created with the session. If the spirit is being stubborn, force the planchette to goodbye. If a spirit becomes angry or violent or otherwise makes you uncomfortable, say goodbye and end the session."

"This is stupid," Peter announced. "If we let the house get haunted, Aunt May will kill me. And then if you want to communicate with me you'll have to use that and I will haunt you."

"One of us is going to end up being possessed or something," Carter groaned. She looked out the window and frowned at the pouring rain as if it were the cause of all her problems. "Do we really have to do this?"

Wade took a deep breath, "Yeah, it'll be fun! Let's do this!" He hopped on the floor with Laynie.

Soon Peter and Carter joined them, though rather grudgingly.

"I'm not asking any questions," Carter grumbled. Peter agreed silently.

"Suit yourselves. But I'm not afraid of some disembodied souls." Laynie's voice came out strong, but her face was pinched and she wouldn't make eye contact. Carter, at least, could tell she was nervous.

Wade set out the board carefully, as if moving it too quickly would get them all haunted. "Alright. What first?"

Laynie pulled out the pamphlet that came with it.

"Um, well, it says everyone should place their fingers on the planchette," She pulled a small plastic triangular piece with hole in it out of the box. "Firmly, but not so much that it would hinder movement."

All four placed their fingers on the planchette.

Carter was already starting to get nervous.

"It says to slowly move the planchette around in circles to warm the board up... or something like that." All of them, after Wade pushed slightly on the planchette started to move it around in circles.

After doing that for a few seconds, Laynie said, "I suppose I'll start." Taking a deep breath, she asked shakily, "Are there any spirits here with us?"

They were almost relieved when the planchette didn't move immediately. But just moments later, the small plastic piece moved slowly to yes.

Carter sucked in a breath. "Wade, I swear..."

"It wasn't me, I swear!" He answered quickly, just as shaken as she was.

"Seriously, whoever moved it better fess up now. This isn't funny." Carter eyes went back and forth between both Laynie and Peter.

"Peter, ask a question," Laynie hissed. She looked like she was either going to burst into tears or faint on the spot.

"No!"

"Peter!"

"Fine. Um, are you a good spirit?"

The planchette moved back a little bit, before moving back onto yes.

Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief. Though, they were all still shocked that it was working.

Wade piped up, "What's your name?"

The planchette didn't move for a long while, and Laynie was beginning to think the thing had been scared away. But before anyone could relax, it began gliding around again. It slowly spelled out " E" and finally stopped moving.

"Well that's only a little terrifying," Peter huffed.

"Why are we doing this?" Carter whispered, growing uncomfortable.

Wade took a deep breath before asking another question, "Um, how did you die?"

"Wade," Carter hissed, "Don't ask it that, it may get angry."

After she said that, it immediately moving again, spelling out " R"

"Ah, come on, you have to remember something?" Wade asked again.

The planchette shot across the board, quickly pulling their hands with it, " R"

"Wade, it said not to ask the same question more than once." Peter glared.

Laynie shot a nervous look at Wade as he opened his mouth to speak to the board. If he ended up getting them all haunted, she really was going to strangle him.

"Why are you here?" she asked loudly. Carter startled and the planchette jerked a little, then began gliding around again.

" E"

Peter pulled his hands away and stood, stepping over the table and leaving the room without a word.

They sat for a few moments, none of the remaining three daring to speak a word to the spirit. Nervously, Carter spoke, "This isn't your house. This is the Parker's house." She stuttered through the sentence.

" E" The planchette spelled out once more. Though more forcefully than the last time. Before they could ask another question, it slid about the board again. " D"

Carter removed her hands from the planchette and ran after Peter.

Laynie gulped back nervous tears, keeping her fingers from trembling by pressing down on the planchette even as it tried to move. "Alright Wade. It's time to close the session now."

He nodded. His normally tan face was devoid of color, proof that he, too, was startled by the spirit's aggression. "Right. Okay, goodbye spirit."

The planchette flew to say "NO"

"Force it!" Laynie exclaimed.

She and Wade guided it toward "GOODBYE" but the spirit put up a shocking struggle, and their fingers were slipping.

"Wade," Laynie said, her voice shaking.

A single finger rammed down on the planchette and pushed it to "GOODBYE", and their struggle was over. Peter withdrew his finger, still attached to the planchette. He flung the thing into the fireplace, and the board after it. Before Wade could so much as blink, the ouija board was feeding a small fire.

"So, that was interesting..." Wade said quietly.

Carter glared at him from behind Peter. "That was awful. And we're never doing it again."

"I second that." Laynie nodded.

Wade chuckled nervously. "Okay, okay. I get it."

Carter sat on the couch, clutching a pillow to her chest.

The four sat in silence, none of them quite sure what to say at that moment.

"So... who's up for the midnight man?" Wade questioned.

Every one of them groaned. A crack of thunder silenced them a second later.

"We can't do it until midnight anyway. We have hours to kill," Laynie said.

"Maybe we can douse the place with holy water while we wait," Peter grumbled. "Are you seriously going to do the midnight man when we just proved that the house is haunted by a very evil and very possessive spirit? Seriously?"

"Are you guys really scared after that? What's the stupid spirit going to do? Obviously it couldn't do much if it had to wait for us to use the stupid board." Wade scoffed.

"Well maybe it was just waiting for an idiot to invite it into their house." Carter spat bitterly.

Wade winced. "Don't talk about Laynie like that, geez."

Carter glared blankly, not at all amused.

"Like it needed an invitation," Peter grumbled. He sat up and sent a tired look in Wade's direction. "I just don't think it's a good idea. We have no idea when Aunt May could get home and she would send us to meet that spirit if she found out about this stuff. Not to mention that none of us are going to sleep until New Years."

Laynie nodded in agreement. "Steve would probably make us bathe in holy water."

"And paint crosses on our faces or something."

"Yep. We're all too young to die."

"We're doing it." Wade said firmly, "Come on guys, stop being such babies." He mocked.

"Call me what you want, but if you start that demonic game in here I will have a breakdown," Carter claimed, "And you can explain to the Avengers why I need psychiatric help."

"What can I do to get you guys to play?"

"It's not a game," Peter insisted. "That's the part you're missing."

"It is a game! If you really think you're going to see spooky figures and get your candle blown out by the Midnight Man, you're the one who's missing something. It's just a game to freak yourself out. Like that movie we watched."

Laynie scoffed. "So you're a thrill seeker now? Let's say that it is actually just a game. What do you have to prove by playing it? Why is it so important to you?"

Wade shrugged. "It seems like fun. Why shouldn't we do it?"

"We shouldn't do it because unlike the movies we watch, this isn't just us watching something, this is us inviting a spirit into our home and allowing it to hunt us. I don't know if it's real or not, but I don't really want to find out." Peter glared at the other teen.

"Don't be such a sourpuss about it, geez."

Peter gave Laynie a hopeless look. "He's like a three year old."

She wrinkled up her nose. "I used to babysit the three year old next door, before I came to stay with the Avengers. He's more like a stubborn two year old."

Wade laid back in the couch and stared into the darkness. With the weak flashlights, the ceiling wasn't even visible. "I spent my entire life in the dark. I didn't see sunlight until last year, you know that? Compared to the things I saw in there, nothing out here should scare me."

Laynie thought of the time she spent in Hammer's tiny hell and shuddered. There was little light in it during the day, and at night she couldn't see her hand two inches from her face. She had tasted that terror, but Wade had truly lived it.

"But I'm terrified. There's a lot I don't know. And..." He shrugged and shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "I can't afford to be afraid all the time. So I'm getting rid of my fears, one by one."

Peter looked away from his friend, jaw clenched tightly. He knew these things, and still said he was a child.

Laynie sighed dramatically, ripping the silence apart. "Fine. If it means that much to you, I'll do it. But I'll probably kill you afterward."

Carter shifted anxiously as the other three stared at her expectantly. She groaned, "Okay, fine. I'll do it too. But, if I get possessed or something stupid like that, I'll be helping Laynie kill you."

The four spent their hours wisely, gathering candles, salt, and paper. They devised strategies on how to stay away from this "Midnight Man" and were assigned jobs by Wade, who was taking his game very seriously.

In the way that only Wade Wilson can, he slowly warmed them all up to the idea of the game, and even Carter was having fun by the time eleven thirty rolled around.

They all silently sat around the coffee table, writing out their names on their paper. Laynie passed her pocket knife around the table, and they all got their drop of blood. Peter passed around Band-Aids.

"Everyone have a candle?" Wade asked, lining the doormat with their papers. "Matches, salt?"

Once they were all sure they had their supplies ready, they sat in front of the door and watched the clock tick.

"Okay," Carter said. "Now I'm a little nervous."

Wade laughed. "It's okay. We'll all stick close together, it'll be fine."

"I'm more concerned about the sleep we're losing," Laynie grumbled. "I sure hope they've cancelled school for tomorrow."

In their final minutes before midnight, Laynie called her dad to confirm they were alright, and Peter called Aunt May, who had been stranded at the hospital on the night shift.

When time came, Wade lit the candles and began knocking on the heavy wooden door. The glass panel behind it rattled each time. "Here goes," he said with a grin. At exactly midnight, the final knock sounded. He opened the door, they all blew out their candles, and the door slammed shut again. In the darkness, the four each scrambled for a match.

"No going back," Laynie muttered in the candle light. She stood up, sheltering her little tea light with her free hand. "Let's get moving."


	14. Chapter 14

As a group, they started to move about the house, first heading to the kitchen. It took a lot to keep from stumbling over furniture and each other, as the candles did not provide a whole lot of light to see.

"You don't think anything will really happen, do you?" Carter whispered to Laynie as they followed behind the boys. She clutched the small candle in her shaking hands and glanced around anxiously.

Laynie shrugged. "Probably not. But you never know." She threw a mischievous glance over her shoulder.

Before Carter could answer, a creaking sound could be heard upstairs. "No, no, no. I knew we shouldn't have done this." She quickly scurried to hide in between Wade and Peter. "Wade, go find out what's making that noise," she ordered.

"What? Why me?" He looked at her incredulously.

"This was your idea. Now go."

"B-but," he started to stutter through an excuse, but was silenced with a scathing glare from not only Carter, but Peter too. "Fine." He pulled his candle closer to his body and clutched the can of salt in his hands, before leaving his friends to investigate the mysterious noise.

Carter, Laynie, and Peter watched as Wade carefully ascended the stairs. He was almost all the way up, when he called down to them, "Are you sure you guys don't want to come with?"

"It's all your's buddy," Laynie answered quickly.

They heard a quiet whine and then the sound of him stomping up the stairs.

They waited a few minutes for Wade to return. Growing somewhat worried they walked into the living room to look up the staircase.

"Wade?" Peter called nervously. "Wade, I swear, you better answer me."

There was another creak, like heavy footsteps, but no reply.

Peter let out a heavy sigh, careful not to blow out his candle. "I'm not coming up there!" he shouted.

No reply.

"Somebody has to get him," Laynie said. "Come on, rock paper scissors."

They all set their candles down. Laynie and Carter went first, and Laynie lucked out, snickering. Carter nervously proceeded with Peter. Her scissors were crushed by his rock, and so was her soul.

Laynie gave her friend a salute as she shoved her candle into her hand. "You will be missed."

Peter pushed her to the bottom of the stairs as she refused to move after Laynie handed her the candle.

She looked back at the two backstabbers she used to call best friends with a fearful gaze in her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she started slowly up the stairs. "Wade," Her voice cracked. "Please answer. I don't want to go up there."

No answer.

And so with a heavy heart, Carter resumed her trek up the long, dark hallway. Eventually she made it to the top and turned down the hallway toward Peter's room, walking right out of Laynie and Peter's line of sight.

"Wade," she hissed. "Come here so I can strangle you."

A draft came from a doorway as she passed it, and her candle flickered. Carter gasped and huddled around the little flame. Without reason, it continued to sputter, and died out.

She started panicked as she got the lighter out of her pocket. The ten seconds continued to run down as she struggled with the candle. Eventually she gave up and starting pouring a circle of salt around herself. She flopped down gracelessly and searched the hallway in terror. "Wade, you idiot, get out here now." She whispered harshly.

Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head when the toilet flushed down the hallway. Wade threw the door open a second later, holding his candle in his teeth as he swore at his belt buckle.

"Waaade!" Carter shouted. "Look at what you did to me!"

He stared for a moment, then laughed so hard he almost blew his own candle out. Using his own sputtering flame, he brought Carter's to life and reached down to help her up. "C'mon, it won't hurt to bend the rules a little."

"Wade, are you sure?"

He nodded, an easy smile on his face. "It's just a game, remember? It's not like some evil spirit is going to punish you for breaking the rules some nerd on the Internet made up."

"Alright," Carter sighed nervously. "Come on, Peter and Laynie are probably worried."

Wade nodded and pulled Carter along with him. They headed back downstairs and found Peter and Laynie in the kitchen.

"Wade, you're alive." Laynie whispered excitedly.

"Yeah, me too. Thanks for noticing." Carter pointed out.

"Oh, hey best friend!" Laynie smiled and hugged Carter.

Carter rolled her eyes. "You're such a great friend." Looking over at Peter, she asked. "So, what's been going on down here, anything strange?"

"Well our candles went out," Peter answered, shuffling his feet nervously.

Laynie nodded, a little spooked. "What was upstairs Wade?"

"A whole bunch of nothing!"

"Lies," Carter hissed, "My candle went out and then I couldn't get it lit again, so I had to sit in a circle for like five minutes, waiting for this doofus to get out of the bathroom. Now that Wade has sufficiently given us all a heart attack, can we go sit down somewhere?"

"Nooo, that's not how the game works. We have to keep moving. C'mon, let's see if there are any ghosts in the basement."

"Are you crazy? Okay wait, don't answer that. We aren't going in the basement." Laynie cradled her candle as it started sputtering. "I think there are enough ghosts up here, thank you."

Peter's house was pretty small, so they ended up walking between the kitchen and the living room, with the occasional excursion upstairs.

They still had a little bit more than an hour until 3:33 and the end of the game. Their candles had flickered and sputtered frequently, though they didn't go out again.

Carter groaned. "How much longer?"

"Too long," Peter muttered.

"Ah, you're a bunch of sissies. We're almost done."

"Seriously though, when I have to explain why my legs are so sore, I am blaming you," Laynie warned. "Would it kill us to sit down for a minute?"

"Yes," Wade answered seriously.

Peter's candle wavered and died. His little tea light's wick was running out. He fumbled for a match while Wade counted for him in the background. Laynie and Carter both shouted "Nope!" and ran for the kitchen.

Peter sighed a breath of relief when the candle was lit again, and he was not in a circle of salt. "That was freakin' close, Wade. I don't like this game very much."

"Almost done. Hey! Why don't we go down to the basement?"

"Wade, we are not going to the basement!" Carter yelled from the kitchen.

"Carter," They heard Laynie hiss, "be quiet."

Wade put a finger on his lips and tip-toed into the kitchen with Peter in tow, unwillingly cooperating.

Wade grabbed Carter from behind, easily putting her into a headlock with only one arm. "To the basement!" He cried.

"No, no, no!" Carter screeched, "Let me go, Wade!"

Wade slapped a hand over her mouth, "Sh... wouldn't want to alert the midnight man of our presence." He whispered ominously.

Peter slapped him on the back of the head. "Stop that. She's freaked out enough, you jerk."

Wade rubbed his head and shot Peter a glare. He stuck out his tongue and continued to stumble down the stairs.

Laynie took up the back of the small party, eyes up in the back of her head in a permanent eye roll. "I'm going to be a very angry spirit if we all die down here," she muttered. "Hey Pete, this basement is probably where the ouija board guy died."

Carter bucked harder against Wade's grip. "This is not okay! Very nope!" she shouted.

She broke free of Wade's grip and ran upstairs, gripping her candle tightly. "Come get me when it's over!" she called over her shoulder.

"Come back, you baby!" Wade shouted, about to run after her.

Peter stopped him, "Leave her, we only came down here because you wanted to, so lead on, oh fearless one."

"I will," Wade said boldly, trudging down the stairs.

"We'll be right up!" Laynie shouted. With her free hand, she latched on to Peter's shirt and squinted into the darkness. It was hard to see beyond the bright drop of light the candle provided. "Oh look there's nothing down here! Let's go!"

"Oh, don't tell me you're scared too," Wade groaned.

They stepped off the staircase and into the crowded basement. They could just barely see the boxes that were piled high around them.

"Well of course I'm scared. What human being wouldn't?"

"Wade, I'm taking Laynie upstairs," Peter announced. "Have fun getting killed in the dark, I won't come looking for your body until morning."

"Fine! I don't need you guys to go exploring anyway. You know what?" Wade, standing in the middle of the basement, blew out his candle. "I'm going to find the midnight man. And when I don't, I'm going to smear it in your faces."

Laynie ran up the stairs, not wanting to hang around for another second.

"You're stupid," Peter said, protectively sheltering his candle from Wade. "I mean, you're my friend and all, but you're stupid." With that, he turned and followed Laynie, leaving Wade to pout in the dark.

Peter found Laynie on the couch, staring at her candle angrily.

"I'm sleepy," she grumbled. "And Carter's ignoring me. She's probably just ticked at Wade."

"Yeah." Peter nudged her leg with his socked foot. "C'mon, we should go find her. And stay as far away from the basement as possible."

Laynie got up with a groan, following after Peter and calling Carter in a stage whisper.

The searched the kitchen and the living room and were about to head upstairs.

"Carter," Laynie called quietly, "Where are you?"

Slowly they crept up the stairs, calling Carter's name.

The searched the bathroom, Peter's bedroom, the guest bedroom, and Aunt May's room.

Laynie was starting to panic. "Oh my gosh, where is she? This is not a particularly large house, Peter."

That's when they heard a rustling in the closet at the end of the hall.

"What was that?" Peter asked with wide eyes. He started inching toward the closet.

Laynie shook her head wildly. "Don't do it, Peter."

"It's okay." He said with a shaky voice and stepped closer to the door.

She grabbed his sleeve. "Peter, remember that movie we watched last month? This is that scene where the girl dies," she hissed. "Do not open that closet. Carter wouldn't go in there for a million dollars anyway."

Peter gave the closet a conflicted look.

"Don't even think about it. Do not use horror movie logic, okay?"

Peter looked back and forth between Laynie and the door anxiously. "I've gotta know, Laynie."

"Peter, don't you dare," Laynie hissed.

He hesitated for a moment before flinging it open. Laynie yelped and held her candle up in front of her face, hoping it would somehow protect from any angry spirits.

She was surprised when she heard Peter chuckle quietly. "What are you laughing about?"

"Carter wouldn't go in here, huh?" He stepped to the side, allowing Laynie to peer inside.

There Carter was, leaning up against the wall, fast asleep. Her candle sat in front of her, still lit.

Laynie blinked a few times. "That little traitor." She kicked Carter's shin, just hard enough to wake her. "C'mon, the game's almost over. We have to go rescue Wade from the basement."

Carter swatted at the air, re-adjusting herself. "No. Go get him yourself."

"Carter! Come on!"

Carter whined profusely as Laynie and Peter dragged her to her feet. Laynie, with complete disregard for the rules of Wade's "game", carried Carter's candle for her as they walked down the stairs.

Halfway down, Peter complained of being cold. Three quarters of the way down, Carter shouted and pointed at a vague shape in the darkness. At the base of the stairs, all three of them shouted as their candles died out.

Over the sound of rain beating against the sides of the house, the three teenagers could barely hear shallow breathing. Peter struggled to pop the top off of a container of salt.

The breathing increased in speed and finally, there was a terrible scream that seemed to come from every corner of the house. The front door opened, wind and rain came in. Laynie's alarm went off. 3:33 AM.

"That wasn't Wade, was it?" Carter asked, voice trembling.

Before anything else could happen, the three teens jumped into action. Peter ran to shut the door while Laynie and Carter scrambled for the lights.

Though before they found the lights, the basement door slammed open with a bang and all three of them screamed like banshees and quickly huddled together expecting the worst.

What they weren't expecting was the high pitched screech that came in response to their own screams. Which in turn, only made the scream even more.

As Wade came skidding into view, they realized it had been him screaming in the basement, "Peter! I regret everything! The Midnight Man's gonna kill us!" Wade's voice rang out over all of the screams of terror. "He was down there!"

Peter, Laynie, and Carter were soon tackled to the ground by a panicked Wade.

"Wade! You're okay!" Carter said in relief.

Laynie removed herself from underneath Wade and quickly turned on a nearby table lamp, returning light to the dark house.

They all felt a little better, but were all made uneasy by the still dark corners of the house. Wordlessly, Peter and Laynie ventured into the darkness and found lights until the entire house was lit up like a Christmas tree. When it was done, the four crammed themselves onto the couch and basked in the light.

"Say it again, Wade."

"Say what?"

"That part where we were right about the midnight man and you were dead wrong."

Wade elbowed Peter, who laughed and returned the favor.


	15. Chapter 15

"You know, I didn't think you'd actually let us come back here after what happened last time..."

Steve looked into the rearview mirror, staring at the girls, "Well, let's make sure what happened last time, doesn't happen this time. Okay?"

"Eh... no promises." Carter shrugged.

"Carter..." Steve said in warning. "Climbing into the rafters of the store will not happen a second time. Am I understood?"

"Uh-huh," she grunted noncommittally.

Laynie slapped a hand over her face. "Carter, what if bad guys decide to shoot at us again?"

"What are the odds of that happening twice in the same store?" Carter asked with a roll of the eyes.

"With the two of you involved," Clint turned to look in the back seat, "I have no doubt that it could happen."

Wade and Peter just listened in amusement at the banter between the other four in the car.

"I actually take offence to that," Laynie announced. "It wasn't even my idea to go into the rafters. Carter _coerced_ me into it!"

"That's not how she tells it," Clint argued.

"Well Carter's a filthy liar."

"Gee, don't hold back, Laynie." Carter frowned.

They pulled into the parking lot soon after, it took a moment for the four teens to squeeze out of the back seat, but they eventually got it.

"So, we're here for camping supplies?" Laynie asked.

Steve nodded. "Yeah," He pulled a list out of his back pocket. "and there's a lot." He sighed, obviously not looking forward to the shopping trip.

"Ah, cheer up Steve, it's not that bad." Carter grinned. "After all, you have us."

Steve stared at her for a moment. "That doesn't really make me feel better..." He turned on his heel and headed for the Costco.

Wade spotted a rogue shopping cart and with a wide grin, he ran and jumped on the back of it, sending it flying forward.

"Hey, wait up!" Carter called and ran after him.

"And so it begins." Clint groaned.

Laynie and Peter walked behind Steve, practicing self-control with everything they had.

Clint, seeing their obvious distress, groaned. "If they're going to act like five year olds you might as well too."

A grin broke out across Laynie's face as she sprinted across the parking lot. She ushered Carter into the cart with Wade, then jumped on the front and started coasting toward the entrance.

Steve was momentarily distracted from his list (written by Pepper, of course), as the cart hit the curb and tipped sideways. Carter fell on top of Wade, who complained he was being suffocated, and Laynie just sat on the pavement and laughed.

"I bet you five dollars that they tip the cart again," Clint said.

Steve shook his head and put the list in his pocket. "I'm not a betting man, Clint, but you're probably right."

"Aww, come on. Peter?"

He laughed. "Even if I had five dollars to bet you, I spend enough time with these people to know that's a losing bet."

Clint and Peter watched silently as Steve set the cart upright, with Carter still in it. As Wade was climbing in again, the cart tipped. A passerby stopped to take a picture of the Avenger picking up the cart -and Bruce Banner's adopted daughter- for the second time.

Clint elbowed Peter. "What did I say?"

Steve scowled as he rolled the cart into the Costco.

Carter chuckled nervously. "Always an adventure with us, huh Steve?"

He just shook his head in disapproval.

Once inside, Carter hopped out of the cart, being careful not to tip it over again.

Wade looked up immediately after getting inside. "So, that's where you and Laynie went last time you guys were here?" He pointed up at the rafters.

"Yep!" Carter chirped. "Good times, good times."

"We almost died," Laynie deadpanned. "Seriously. I fell from up there."

Wade nodded. "Peter, we're going."

"NO!" shouted Steve and Clint in unison.

Wade grinned his most devious grin, silently plotting like always.

"Okay, first on the list!" Steve began. The second he unrolled the list, all four teenagers groaned.

"We're gonna be here forever," Laynie mumbled.

Steve frowned. It _was_ a very long list. Maybe he could give half of it to the kids and let them help? It would at least give them a purpose to keep them out of the rafters. That, or they would cause massive trouble while unattended, resulting in lawsuits or death.

The hope of getting out sooner overruled Steve's better judgement, and he ripped off the bottom half of the list.

"Alright, Clint and I will handle this half. Can I trust you four with the rest?"

The teens were skeptical. On any other day, they might have said yes immediately. But Steve presented the list as if it were life or death.

"We can handle it, right?" Carter asked. "We're mature. We can do this."

Laynie laughed while she took the list. "This can't end well."

Wade grabbed a nearby cart and ran off with Laynie and Carter, Peter afraid of what will happen next.

"So, first thing on the list is... bug spray." Laynie said, looking up at the aisle signs for any indication of where that may be.

"Aisle three!" Carter called and grabbed the cart, running away with it.

"Wait for me!" Wade shouted and ran after her.

Laynie and Peter were hot on their heels.

Peter huffed. "Slow down!"

They followed Carter and Wade as they skidded into aisle three. And just about ran into them and the cart when they suddenly stopped in front of the bug spray.

Laynie apologized to a few customers who gave them some dirty looks. She glared at Carter and whacked her on the head. "You're gonna get us banned from the store."

The other girl scoffed. "As if they'll ban us, we live with the Avengers." She waved off Laynie's concern. "Anyway, how much bug spray should we get?"

Laynie sighed. "It doesn't say. Maybe just a few-"

She didn't get the chance to finish as Wade dropped about twenty cans in the cart.

"Wade, I don't think we need that much."

"Do you know how many bugs there are in the wilderness?" Wade asked with wide eyes. "A lot. There a lot of bugs in the wilderness."

"He has a point..." Carter said, the image of spiders invading their tent briefly flashing through her mind.

Laynie sighed. "Steve can always put them back if need be. So, next item! Sandwich supplies. Let's Start with bread and work our way into condiments."

"But we're closer to condiments," Peter argued. "We just have to go down six or seven aisles and cross over-"

"But it'll take longer to get bread and lunch meat, and they're together."

"It'll take longer to walk all the way over there and double back! Besides, the bread will be on the bottom of the cart and the condiments will squish it."

Laynie and Peter stopped and leveled a glare at each other, while Carter and Wade sat off to the side with wide eyes.

"Guys, um, it's not like we're drawing up a battle plan or anything. It doesn't really matter what we do first."

Laynie redirected the glare at Carter. "So what, you agree with him?"

"No no no, that's not what I said!"

As Laynie was about to argue more, Wade put his hand on her mouth and shushed her sharply. "Let's split up. I'll go with Peter for condiments, you go with Carter for lunch meat and stuff. EW, did you lick me?" Wade wiped his hand on Carter's shirt. "You're going to pay for that."

Carter looked down at her shirt in disgust. "Gee Wade, thanks for that." She sighed and reached for the cart. "Let's meet back here when we get everything."

"Hey, wait, why do you get the cart?" Wade asked with a frown.

"Cause I want the cart, that's why." She deadpanned.

"Laynie and Carter are going to get more. Plus, they're girls. We'll let them have the cart."

Laynie punched Peter in the arm. "We're _girls_? What's that supposed to mean? You can have the cart, Wade. C'mon Carter."

"I was trying to be polite!" Peter called after them, rubbing his arm. He sighed and leaned against the cart, which Wade was sitting in again. "Wade, we need to find guy friends."

"Later. For now, the aisle is clear and I need you to push me as fast as you can."

Carter pouted as they walked out of the aisle. "I wanted the cart though..."

"Oh Carter..." Laynie rolled her eyes.

"So, are you excited about the camping trip? Or do you think it will basically be a complete train wreck?" Carter asked.

Laynie laughed. "You remember that time our parents took us camping? We were what, ten? Eleven, maybe? I think it'll turn out like that."

Carter shuddered. "Snakes and spiders?"

"And probably fleas and a few other plagues. Because nature is evil. But at least we'll get to spend some time with Peter and Wade outside of school or Taco Bell!"

"Yeah! And Thor said he's coming, and bringing Jane!"

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that!"

As she sifted through the cheese, Carter said, "I can't say I'm looking forward to being stuck in an RV with ten other people..."

Laynie grimaced. "Yeah, let's hope my motion sickness doesn't act up."

"Ah, yeah let's hope." Carter made a face.

They piled all sorts of bread, lunch meat, and cheese into their arms before heading back to meet with Peter and Wade.

The boys had, shockingly, gathered what was requested of them without getting into any trouble.

"You done being grumpy yet?" Wade asked Laynie jokingly.

"Make that face you did when I licked you, it'll help."

He stuck his tongue out at her and sulked in the cart.

Laynie dug her phone out of her purse as the whole thing vibrated. She rolled her eyes when she saw the caller ID. "Hi Steve. No, we haven't gotten into any trouble. I promise." She waited a beat. "We just finished with sandwich supplies. You guys? Uh-huh, right. You accuse us of making trouble and the first chance he gets, Clint accidentally runs over an old lady. Nice." She laughed. "I won't tell Dad, okay? We'll check in later."

She shoved her phone back where it came from and hopped into the cart beside Wade. "We get shot at in Costco one time and suddenly it's 'check in every fifteen minutes'."

"Oh yeah, that's a totally unreasonable thing to tell children who are regularly shot at or kidnapped."

Laynie and Carter both gave Peter a sour look for the comment.

"That was everything on the list, what now?" Carter crumpled up the paper.

"We sit and wait for Steve and Clint to get done?" Laynie offered.

Wade scoffed, "That's sounds really boring, Laynie."

"But it will keep us out of trouble." Peter pointed out.

Carter rolled her eyes. "We can stay out of trouble and still have fun guys." She grinned widely. "Who's up for a little hide and seek?"

"Say we did play hide and seek, what would we do with our cart?" Laynie asked.

"The seeker gets to take it with them." She answered with a shrug.

"That sounds like a handicap..." Laynie thought the idea over, trying to be the responsible one. "Fine. Rock paper scissors for who seeks first."

They gathered into a circle near the cart.

"First one out seeks first." Carter said, "Ready?"

Everyone nodded before they started chanting, "Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!"

Carter and Laynie chose rock while Peter and Wade chose scissors.

"Well, I guess you two have to go one more round." Carter grinned.

"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!"

"No!" Peter groaned.

He unfortunately chose rock and Wade chose paper.

"Ha!" Wade hopped out of the cart, "Count to a hundred then come find us!" He called as he dragged Laynie and Carter away.

"Wade!" Laynie called. "Do not get into trouble!"

"Right, right!"

Laynie split with Carter as they ran past the garden area. She shot down an aisle and shut herself in one of the sheds they had on display.

Carter kept running, but had to stop suddenly when she saw Clint and Steve out of the corner of her eye. _Crap!_ She looked around anxiously, until she saw a familiar sight. There it was, the infamous ladder that she climbed that first time she came here with the Avengers. _I really shouldn't... but I'm gonna._ She grinned and shot up the ladder.

Peter didn't count to a hundred. He made it to eighty and sighed, shoving the cart ahead of him. He methodically worked his way through the snack aisles and into clothes, poking racks and trying to ignore weird looks from concerned shoppers.

He was sidetracked by a sample stand and a short conversation with the kind elderly lady behind it, and finally passed the garden section. He knew neither of the girls would have dared go outside without their coats, which were in the cart, and it was far too obvious for Wade. He knew his crazy friend had either buried himself in a giant bin of stuffed animals or climbed into the rafters.

However, the giant shed in the middle of the store looked just Carter and Laynie's type.

He walked down the row and threw open each shed, finally finding Laynie in the middle.

"Geez, took you long enough. I could've written like three blog posts for as long as it took you to find me." She pocketed her phone and let Peter help her up. "Um, sorry about arguing earlier."

"Pff, me and Wade argue all the time. It's okay. Make it up to me by finding Carter."

"Rafters. I'm like, ninety percent sure she went up there. And I'm not going after her!"

Peter sighed, "I think we should go try and find Wade first. Carter's not going anywhere and I'm sure she's smart enough not to get caught by Steve twice. Wade, not so much."

"A very good point." Laynie said with a nod. "Let's go!" She jumped on the end of the cart. "Onward!"

Peter rolled his eyes, but nonetheless broke into a run and hopped on to the cart, riding it to the other end of the store.

Both of them were very careful to look out for Clint and Steve knowing they could be just about anywhere in the store.

Laynie stepped off the cart as Peter rolled it to a stop. They had circled the store twice, almost been caught by Steve once, and had no luck finding Wade. "Okay, think like Wade. Where would he go?"

"He's got SHIELD training," Peter sighed. "He would think like a spy."

"So, high ground?"

"Yeah, you're on to something. Do you think he and Carter are in the same place?"

"No way. You can't move in those rafters at all, not even if you're a spy. He's going to try to move when we get too close."

Peter frowned. "Well, I could."

Laynie's eyes widened. "Yeah! You can crawl on the-!"

Peter clamped a hand over her mouth. "EW! Geez Laynie, how old are you?" He wiped his hand off on his shirt. "Let's not announce that to the world, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go bust those losers!"

The pair rushed off, keeping their eyes on the rafters for any sign of movement, while simultaneously looking out for Clint and Steve.

Meanwhile, Carter carefully walked about the metal catwalks. Though she couldn't move very much. She decided to pass the time playing her own version of Where's Waldo, substituting Waldo with Peter, Laynie, Steve, and Clint. She watched as they wandered around the store, Peter and Laynie looking for her and Steve and Clint completely oblivious to what they were currently doing.

 _They're gonna kill us if they find out about this._ Carter thought with a slight grin.

Suddenly, she felt someone grab her sides and she yelped.

She turned and saw Wade cackling behind her. "Wade, you jerk," She landed on punch on his shoulder. "You're gonna get us caught."

He gave her his cheesy grin, stifling giggles. "You're going to get yourself caught. You're making a crud ton of noise!"

"Am not!"

"Are too! You have to be totally silent. When you walk put down the side of your foot and roll onto the balls of your feet. Stay off your heels." He demonstrated this. "Spycraft 101."

She tried this method of walking, frowning. "Get your own hiding spot."

"I only came up here to scare you, I was on top of that aisle over there. You should have seen the look that old lady gave me when I scaled the shelving."

Carter rolled her eyes. "I'm sure that was interesting." She started pushing him toward the ladder. "Now go. I'm sure there are plenty of other old ladies for you freak out."

Wade whirled on her with a big puppy dog face. "Please don't make me leave? Please?"

Carter crossed her arms, giving him an unimpressed look.

"I won't cause any trouble or tickle you again! I promise."

"Agh!" She rolled her eyes and turned, walking away from the ladder and Laynie below it. "Fine, come on before we get caught."

Laynie shushed Peter, straining to hear another sound. She could have sworn she heard Wade.

"Did you hear that? I coulda sworn it was Wade, up in the rafters."

Peter peered up into the rafters. He stepped toward the ladder and was about to grab it, but was distracted by somebody calling behind them.

"What are you two doing?"

Both Peter and Laynie whirled around and came face to face with Steve and Clint.

"It was Carter!" Laynie shouted.

Carter mouth flopped open. _She sold me out._ She frowned.

"You promised Laynie," Steve said, gravely disappointed.

"No, Steve, it really was! We were playing hide and seek because we finished and- and she went up in the rafters! I'm sorry."

"Lighten up," Clint said, elbowing Steve. Not even he could stand to watch Laynie wither under Captain America's scrutiny. "I'll go get Carter."

Carter's eyes widened. "Crap!" She said under her breath.

"Um, okay bye now." Wade scurried off, leaping from one catwalk to another.

"Wade, what the heck?" She pouted as he abandoned her.

Wade was caught by the collar of his shirt by Peter, who had scampered up the ladder in record time.

"Not so fast," he mumbled.

"Ha, good job Peter." Carter grinned, though it quickly disappeared when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Wouldn't get too happy, shortie."

She chuckled nervously. "Hey, Clint. What's up?"

"You. And I distinctly remember telling you to stay on the ground."

"Sorry, saw a ladder and I couldn't help myself." Carter offered him a smile.

He didn't return the happy expression. "Let's get your feet back on the ground, shall we?"

She dropped her gaze to her feet, "Yes sir." She followed Clint down the ladder quietly.

As Carter came down the latter, an unhappy Clint in tow, Laynie ducked her head to avoid eye contact.

Carter frowned a little at her friend. "Thanks for ratting me out." She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'm sorry," Laynie mumbled.

Steve stood over the two teens. His silent stare sent waves of disapproval. "Carter, I thought you would know better. You know I'm going to tell your father. For now, I want you to go wait in the car. Where's Wade?"

"I've got him." Peter answered as they descended the ladder, Wade pouting behind him.

"You two, go to the car with them." Steve turned to Clint. "Don't take your eyes off of them."

Clint rolled his eyes. "I don't intend to." He motioned for the teens to follow him as he walked toward the exit.

"Sorry I ran off," Wade mumbled. "Fury's going to have my head."

"Probably should have thought of that beforehand." Clint commented blandly.

Wade didn't have the heart to reply.

The teens piled into the back of the car while Clint stood outside, leaning against it.

Carter had her chin propped on her hand, staring out the window. Wade looked disappointed in himself. Peter and Laynie felt responsible, and every so often would give each other a glance.

"Carter..." Laynie began. "I didn't mean for you to get in trouble."

"Well, I did. So thanks for that." Carter snapped irritably.

"You did something you knew you would get in trouble for. Don't blame me."

Carter whipped around to face her friend. "Maybe I wouldn't be so upset if you weren't so quick to sell me out. You couldn't have covered for me?"

"No, Carter! Can't you just take responsibility for the fact that you made a mistake?"

"Whatever." Carter turned away angrily.

Clint opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it.

Wade and Peter looked back and forth between the two girls astonished. They had never seen the pair fight before, so the tension hanging between them was more than a little unsettling.

Laynie turned red, fists balled in her lap as she tried not to strangle her friend. "Try not to upset Bruce this time, at least," she spat out.

"Oh my god!" Carter burst. "It's like you care about him more than me!"

"Do we have to do this right now Carter?"

"I don't know, Laynie. Do we? I was gonna let it drop, but _no_ , you just had to bring up Bruce, didn't you?" Carter shouted.

"Let's do it now then!" Laynie shrieked back. "Because you've been nothing short of ungrateful to Bruce! He loves you _so much_ , and you reject him all the time! And don't give me excuses, you don't have to forget your dad to love him!"

"That's easy for you to say! Before Tony, you never had a dad who loved you!" Carter screamed.

Laynie sat back, biting her lip while tears welled up in her eyes. "Maybe that's why I appreciate Bruce more. I haven't always had so many people who love me as you did."

"That's enough," Steve said sternly, holding the driver's seat door open. "We'll discuss this with your parents when we get home. Peter, Wade, here's some cash for a cab. Thank you for your help with the shopping."

Peter and Wade were completely silent as they slid out of the backseat. Neither girl could bring herself to eye contact.

The ride back to the tower was dead silent.

Laynie sat trying not to cry, looking everywhere but at Carter.

Carter's brain had finally caught up with what she had said and now she was trying to think of something that could magically make everything right again. _God, what is wrong with me? How could I say something like that?_

Laynie, meanwhile, was trying to remember who had even started the fight. She knew it didn't make a difference who started it, anyway. She wondered how she could ever make Carter understand.

The ride ended before either girl arrived at a solution, and Clint had the parents waiting in the living room when they got upstairs.

Laynie stopped at the mouth of the living room, frozen in place. She hated getting in trouble. In the back of her mind, she still irrationally worried that Tony would tire of her and send her away. She tried to stay out of trouble as much as possible for this very reason.

Carter glanced at Laynie anxiously as she passed to enter the living room. She had wrapped her arms tightly around herself, wishing she could just disappear. She knew she had taken it too far today. There were a lot of things Laynie had forgiven her for in the past, but she couldn't bring herself to believe that she'd forgive her this time.

"C'mere," Tony prompted, patting the couch beside him.

Laynie practically ran to fill the seat, leaning into him when he wrapped his arm around her.

Bruce looked like he wanted to do the same thing for Carter, but she sat on the opposite side of the room.

"Clint didn't say what happened beyond the rafters and that you were in an argument. Do either of you want to tell the story?" Tony asked.

Their eyes met for a moment and they instantly looked the other way.

"JARVIS, call Clint up," Tony said with a sigh.

The two scientists listened while Clint blundered through the story, not wanting to further hurt either girl's feelings, but knowing his responsibility.

Carter didn't think she could feel any worse. But she was wrong, she felt increasingly worse as she heard Clint recount the story for everyone. From the snippy remarks at the beginning to the screaming fit they had at the end.

She could already feel not only Bruce's, but Tony and Pepper's astonished gazes on her. But she didn't dare look up at them.

"Thank you Clint." As the Avenger reluctantly took his leave, Pepper solemnly asked, "Do you have anything to say for yourselves?"

Carter shook her head. "No." She whispered quietly. Laynie only hung her head, ashamed.

"Carter, unless you have something to say to Laynie, let's go upstairs." Bruce walked to the elevator and watched Carter shuffle to her feet.

On the elevator, she stared at her feet for a few moments before peering at Bruce through her bangs. He looked angry, disappointed, and concerned all at once. She quickly turned her eyes back to the ground.

The elevator doors opened with a cheerful ding.

She looked up and saw that they had come to Bruce's apartment. They stood quietly before Carter realized that Bruce was waiting for her to exit first.

She shuffled into the room nervously.

"Sit." He pointed to a nearby chair.

"Yes sir." She managed to choke out before rushing to the chair.

Carter watched as he paced back and forth in front of her. After a couple minutes, she opened her mouth to speak only to be cut off by Bruce.

He raised a hand to stop her. He stopped pacing and locked eyes with her. "What in world came over you today?"

She opened her mouth again, only to be interrupted once more.

"And before you answer, is there anything that you can say that could possibly justify what you said to Laynie?"

Carter froze momentarily before choking out an almost silent 'no'.

Bruce collapsed into a chair across from her, rubbing his eyes. "I can't do this Carter. I want to make this work, so badly, but... I can't do it at your expense. Do you want to live somewhere else? _With_ someone else?"

"No, that's not what I want." Carter said in frustration.

"Tell me what you _do want_! I'm at my wits end with you!"

"I don't know!" Carter shouted back at him.

"Is it me? Would it be better if I sent you away? Because that's where we stand right now."

Carter turned away from his gaze with a frown on her face.

"Why are you so upset? I don't understand, Carter. You were happy to be adopted. You were happy to be here. What changed?"

"I'm done talking. I'm going to my room." She stood up and headed for the elevator.

Bruce grasped her arm as she walked by, stopping her dead in her tracks. "You're grounded. JARVIS, get this on record. When she leaves her apartment, I want to know."

Carter's mouth flopped open. "What, no!" She yanked her arm out of his grasp. "You can't do that!"

Bruce shook his head. "Yes I can. Go to your room. Now."

She glared at him. "Fine." She turned and stomped toward the elevator leaving Bruce behind.

When she got there, Laynie was waiting on the couch. Her friend's tear-stained face gave her a pang of guilt, and she wondered if Bruce was really wrong to ground her.


	16. Chapter 16

"Laynie, you aren't in trouble," Tony grumbled. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"You did say some hateful things, but living with them is punishment enough," Pepper added. "I need to get ready for a meeting later today. I'll see you at dinner."

When Pepper was gone, Laynie asked without looking up, "Are you mad at me?"

"No, I'm mad at Carter," Tony fumed. "Bruce has been off recently and you know me, I didn't ask, but that would explain it."

"She's angry." Laynie finally raised her head, staring out the window at the city. "And I don't know how to help her."

"You still worry about her, after everything she said to you?"

"Of course." She shrugged. "All she said was the truth. Before you, all I had was my mom. We didn't have any family friends beside the Becketts, and mom's parents died not long after I was born."

Both were silent for a moment.

"You know, in middle school kids used to pick on me for not having a dad. But for every one of those kids who picked on me, there was another one like me. We had this silent pact to not be alienated for not having an extra parent." She laughed a little. "And I still technically only have one."

Tony patted Laynie's shoulder and made for the stairs. They went down to his lab, where he walked to the Mark 1 and pulled the helmet off. He set it in her arms and reached inside, withdrawing a small, black velvet covered box.

"It's the only safe hiding spot from someone like Pepper," he said mischievously.

Laynie watched, eyes sparkling, as the box opened on a fat pearl on a silver band.

"It's beautiful," she sighed.

He snapped the box shut as returned it to its hiding place. "Think Pep'll like it?"

"Dad!" Laynie exclaimed. "It's gorgeous! When are you proposing?"

He turned a little pink around the cheeks. "I've had the ring for about six months now."

Laynie only shook her head. "You're going to have to do it sooner or later."

"We've been busy!"

"Dad," she deadpanned "the most exciting thing that happened this week was when Wade put his fist through the window when we were training."

He tried to stutter out a witty reply, and gave up. "You're right."

"I know I am. How about you do it while we're camping?"

"Propose in the woods? _Ugh_ , where's your sense of romance?"

She elbowed him in the arm as they entered the elevator. "Just think about it. I'm going to go see if Carter's upstairs."

Tony punched the buttons for the main floor and Laynie's apartment. "Good luck," he called as she got off the elevator.

She had to wait only a few minutes before the door opened on her friend, who looked as cross as ever.

Laynie jumped up, standing awkwardly in the center of the room while Carter stormed away.

"Carter?"

She froze. "What is it?" She asked after a moment.

"I just, um, are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine." Carter stammered. "Don't worry about it."

Laynie looked down, biting her lip. "I'm not angry at you."

"But, you should be." Carter replied quietly.

Still looking down, she smiled. "You know my grudge holding record is like, fifteen minutes long. Besides, even though you said some mean crap, I instigated it. We're both to blame, so- so maybe our mistakes can cancel each other out? Or something?"

Carter snorted. "Always so optimistic." Taking a deep breath, she continued. "Maybe you did instigate it, but I took it too far. I should have never said that to you... I'm so sorry, Laynie."

Laynie hopped over the couch and wrapped her arms around her friend before she could react. "That's all I needed to hear. I'm sorry too."

Fifteen minutes later, the two were on the couch watching cartoons. They had equipped themselves with tissues, blankets and ice cream.

"Did you make up with Bruce?" Laynie asked tentatively. A second later, she slapped herself on the forehead. "I'm sorry, it's none of my business. It's my nosyness that got us fighting in the first place."

Carter shook her head. "It's alright. And not exactly." She huffed. "He grounded me."

"Ew! How long?"

"I don't know. I left before he could tell me." She scraped at her ice cream bowl.

Laynie snorted. "I'm sure it can't be long. He can't hold a grudge much better than me."

Carter stared into the empty bowl, looking vaguely disturbed. "He talked about sending me away."

"What? No, that's not Bruce. He would never. That doesn't sound right!"

Carter shrugged. "He probably just wanted to freak me out or something..." She placed her bowl on the side table and wrapped her blanket tightly around herself. "I'm not going to worry about it too much."

"Carter! That's a big deal. You aren't going to _let him_ send you away, are you?"

"I dunno!" Carter responded, exasperated. "It's his choice."

"Nope." Laynie set aside her hardly-touched ice cream, dragging a blanket behind her as she made for the elevator. "This isn't okay. Bruce is _not_ going to take away my best friend because you two can't get along."

"Laynie, don't worry about it." Carter groaned as her friend walked away.

But the words fell on deaf ears as the elevator doors slid shut behind Laynie.

Carter rolled her eyes and turned back to the TV.


	17. Chapter 17

After the argument with Carter, Bruce had to spend a little while calming down before he went downstairs to find something to eat.

Bruce offhandedly greeted Tony as he walked past the couch for the kitchen.

"Bruce," Tony replied shortly, not looking away from his tablet.

Bruce stopped in his tracks, frowning, and slowly turned. In the reflection of the tablet, Bruce could Tony was angry. "Is there a problem?" When Tony ignored him, he shrugged and continued toward the kitchen.

"Did you get your daughter under control?"

Bruce stopped again, backing up instantly to face Tony. "Excuse me?"

Tony turned around in his chair. "Did you get Carter under control? She _really_ hurt Laynie, and the kid didn't even have it in her to be angry." He scoffed, turning around again. "Further proving she's a better person than I am."

Bruce's eyes narrowed. "So, what happened was all Carter's fault? Because, from what I remember, Laynie instigated that fight. Carter did say some horrible things, but don't you dare place all the blame on her."

"Carter is the one who decided to directly disobey Steve and Clint, not to mention endanger herself. She _had it coming_."

"She had it coming?!" Bruce exploded. "She's a sixteen year old kid! What sixteen year old doesn't make mistakes? I know I did, and you can't tell me that you didn't too."

Tony stood, putting his tablet on the couch. He couldn't see Bruce's green through his own anger. "Yeah, but the difference is that I knew how to accept a punishment for my actions! You've told me yourself that she doesn't listen to anything you say!"

Bruce felt himself growing green. "She's gone through a lot Tony. In the last twelve months, she's lost her parents and lived in three different homes!"

"So has Laynie. She lived with an alcoholic and went through God knows what in a completely different side of the country! And you don't see her causing trouble every time she turns around!"

Laynie stormed into the living room, hands fisted at her sides. Her blanket had been long abandoned in the doorway and even in her fuzzy pajama pants, she was a force to be taken seriously.

"Are you two done?" She asked in her best imitation of a furious Pepper Potts. "Because Carter's upstairs eating ice cream, worried that Bruce is going to send her away. She asked for my forgiveness, by the way." When neither of the fathers dared open their mouth to the girl, she continued. "Bruce? How could you? She _has_ been through a lot. In fact, a whole lot more than you guys know! I grew up with that girl, and I knew her parents. They were forgetful. They loved their job sometimes more than her, and the only discipline she got was from my mother. I can't condone her behavior at all, but I understand it. Carter's not me and if you want a kid like me Bruce, maybe you _should_ send her away. But you bet I'm going with her."

She gave her dad one last hateful glance before collecting her blanket and leaving.

Laynie wondered what she would say to Carter, and the elevator ride was too short to think anything up. Somebody must have been watching out for her, though, because her friend was fast asleep on the couch when she walked in.

She smiled and sat down, picking up her buzzing phone. Text messages from Wade were cluttering her lock screen.

" _U ok?_ "

" _Carter too?_ "

" _Fighting still?_ "

" _Plz don't_ "

She typed back, " _not fighting. We made up. Parents are fighting as loudly as we did._ "

" _Hypocrites_. _Can I call u?_ "

" _If you promise to stop using chatspeak, yeah._ "

" _Lol, promise._ "

Laynie facepalmed briefly, then moved to her room so as not to wake her friend.

"What's up?"

Wade let out a huge sigh on the other end. " _When Carter wakes up, tell her I'm sorry. I'm part of the reason you guys got in trouble._ "

"I'm sure she won't be angry with you."

" _Soo, did they go easy on you?_ "

"Easier on me, which I feel horrible about. Carter's been indefinitely grounded, and I got off with nothing more than a scolding."

" _Lucky! It coulda been worse. Aunt May chewed me out, but that's it. Fury was... Furious._ "

Laynie and Wade both laughed.

"Are you in trouble?"

He sighed. " _Sort of._ "

Laying in bed, she grinned at the ceiling. "C'mon, tell me what happened."

" _Well, Fury... He... He suspended my allowance. No money for me this month._ "

Laynie giggled into her hand, aware of Carter stirring in the living room. "Poor baby," she crooned into the phone. "No taco money?"

" _No!_ " he cried, despairing. There was a thump and a garbled shout on the other side. " _Peter's yelling at me to be quiet,_ " he whispered.

"Yeah, it's getting pretty late. I guess we should hit the hay for school tomorrow. Blech."

" _Wait! Um, about the formal- I, uh._ "

"Did Fury say you can't go? Because I will tell him to shove—"

" _No no, that's not it. I can go, I was just wondering..._ "

Laynie chewed on her lip as he spit and sputtered.

" _Have you found a dress?_ "

She deflated, falling back into her pillows. That wasn't really the question she was expecting, and she was a little surprised to say she was relieved he didn't ask it. "Nope. We have plenty of time though, right?"

" _Well, not really. We have until this weekend when we leave for camping, and after that you only have a week, right?_ "

"Crap! Okay, well I guess I should rest up for school _and_ shopping. Aaand Carter will be stuck here."

" _Well, I could go with you? I mean, if you need some, uh, insight?_ "

"Yeah," she smiled. "That would be nice. Maybe we'll get some tacos. Catch ya at school then, goodnight!"

Wade called out a goodnight, and the phone clicked just as Peter began banging on the wall again.

Laynie had JARVIS turn out the lights, and fell asleep not a second later.


	18. Chapter 18

Carter looked over the report card again, grinning madly. She couldn't believe how much she'd managed to bring her grades up. She thought excitedly to herself that her parents would be really proud to see it.

As she approached her house, her excitement doubled when she saw her parents hadn't left for their mission yet. Late the night before, they had been called in by S.H.I.E.L.D. for a mission. She thought they would have been gone by the time she made it home from school.

She ran the rest of the way to the house and flung the door open. "I'm home!" She shouted loudly.

"Hey, babe," her dad said as he rummaged through a backpack. "How was school?"

If it was possible her grin grew even wider. "Well, I actually have something really exciting to show you-" She was just about to show him her report card when her mother walked in.

"Ben, have you seen my cell?" she interrupted.

He thought for a moment, "I think it I saw it on the dresser."

Carter tried to open her mouth again, but was cut off once more.

"I looked there already..." Denise looked around. "Maybe I left it in the office." She wandered off upstairs.

"As I was saying-" Carter started again.

"Where did you put my gun, Denise?" Her father shouted over her.

"I put it back in it's case." Her mother called back.

"Well, I'm looking in the case, but I don't see it."

Denise came back downstairs, phone in hand. "Then I don't know what to tell you."

Growing frustrated, Carter yelled. "Hey!"

Her parents were caught off guard.

"Carter, we're very busy, what is it?" Ben sighed.

At this point, the grin she displayed proudly had fallen away. "I just wanted to show you my report card..."

"Are your grades better than they were in your last report card?" Denise asked exasperatedly.

"Well, yeah-" She fingered at the paper in her hands.

"Then I see no reason for us to look over it." Her mother shrugged and turned to Ben. "We were supposed to have left ten minutes ago."

He sighed, "Let me go get my back-up pistol." He stood and went to their bedroom.

Denise threw her cell in her backpack and pulled it over her shoulder. She walked up to her daughter and planted a kiss on her forehead. "I'm sorry we have to go like this. I want you to go straight to Laynie and Rebecca's, do you understand?"

Carter nodded. "Yes ma'am."

The older woman smiled. "Good." Over her shoulder she shouted, "Ben, come on." With that, she was out the door and headed for the car.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." He jogged out of their room. He shoved the gun into his backpack. Just as his wife did, he planted a quick kiss on his daughter's forehead. "Love you, babe."

"Love you too, Dad." She said to his back as he walked out.

With a sigh, she grabbed her bag and dragged it behind her to her room. She threw it on her bed before grabbing another bag out of her closet.

It was a backpack she kept packed for when her parents went on missions. She never knew when she would be staying with Laynie, or Coulson sometimes, so it was better to be prepared.

She glanced at the report card on the bed, momentarily imagining ripping it up and putting it in the trash. But she knew Laynie would want to look at it. At least she could always rely on her friend to pay attention.

She shoved it in an outer pocket of the bag and pocketed her small can of Mace, walking back the way she came. Laynie lived further downtown than she did, in a big apartment complex near SHIELD headquarters, whereas Carter lived in a suburban neighborhood. A quick subway ride later, Carter was being let in by the doorman and in the escalator to her friend's floor.

Laynie threw the door open wide only seconds after she knocked, giving her a hug as if they hadn't seen each other in weeks.

"Hey! Did you catch your parents?"

Carter left her bag by the door with a sigh. "Yeah, they had to leave pretty quick though."

"Bummer," Laynie said solemnly. "My mom wanted to see it, did you bring it?"

"Yeah, where is your mom?"

Laynie shrugged. "In the kitchen, making dinner, y'know. The usual. Got that card? Okay, cool. Let's go see my mom!"

Carter didn't have time to contemplate how her friend was acting up, because she found a surprise waiting in the kitchen.

Laynie's mom wasn't the only one in the kitchen. Coulson was reclining at the table in the kitchen, smiling and chatting with Rebecca.

Carter grinned. "Hey Coulson."

The man looked up and grinned. He clambered out of his seat to give her a hug. Since being promoted, the girls didn't get to see him as often as they used to.

Soon after being released from the hug, Laynie's mom was quick to ask for her report card. "Where is it?"

Carter rolled her eyes and handed her the envelope in her hands. "Here."

She snatched it out of Carter's hands with a grin.

Like the couple of mother hens they were, Coulson and Rebecca stood over the report card grinning and applauding her.

"You've brought your GPA up a point!"

Coulson nodded, noting she had done much better in history. "I see all my 'fangirling' finally paid off."

Laynie giggled in the background. No two children had ever been more prepared for a pop quiz on Steve Rogers.

Carter blushed. No matter how much they praised her, she never quite got used to the attention. Her parents, though they loved her, weren't very attentive when it came to her school life.

Laynie put a hand on her friend's shoulder as her mother continued to croon. "Mom's making your favorite meal! With cake batter ice cream for dessert," she said with a wink. "You earned it."

"Oh, you don't have to do that. It's really not a big deal," Carter said with wide eyes.

"It is a big deal, Carter." Coulson smiled. "You've improved a lot these past few weeks. We're proud of you."

Carter woke with a start. She ran a hand through her hair, smiling. The dream had left her feeling warm and loved like she hadn't felt in a long time. Coulson and Rebecca were as much like her parents as her real parents had been.

She grabbed her phone off the side table to see how long she'd been out. Wincing slightly at the bright light the screen emitted, she saw that she had only been asleep for an hour or so.

Carter groaned and sat up, rubbing her bed-head hair out of her face. She was absolutely exhausted from all that had happened that day, but had no desire to go back to sleep. Not after such a realistic dream like that. Or was it a memory? She couldn't decipher fact from fiction.

She heard the elevator's _ding!_ in the hallway and a second later, Tony popped his head in the door.

"Oh, sorry. Is Laynie still up?"

Carter blinked. The last she remembered before falling asleep was Laynie storming away. "I have no idea."

Tony let himself in and went to his daughter's room. Carter craned her neck and saw that Laynie was fast asleep under a pile of blankets on her bed.

Tony closed her door quietly and came to sit across from Carter.

"I'm sorry about what I said," she said quietly. "I didn't mean to hurt anyone."

Tony scoffed. "You did a fine job of it. Thankfully Laynie's got a big heart." She winced at his words, and his expression softened. "Hey, I'm sorry. We all say things we don't mean— myself more than any."

Carter kept her head ducked, not sure how to proceed.

"Laynie had some choice words for Bruce and I. She's scary."

She laughed. "You have no idea. I think she got it from Coulson." The name tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop herself. "He-he was a SHIELD agent who used to babysit us, back when we were really little. He was good friends with Laynie's mom."

Tony narrowed his eyes at the girl, with his head subconsciously cocked to the side. "Phil Coulson? You _knew_ him?"

Carter bobbed her head. "Yeah, he was a friend of our parents." She looked at him curiously. "Did _you_ know him?"

Tony shook his head a little, as if to clear his thoughts. "Yeah. He- he was a great man. He died... Fighting Loki."

"I know," Carter said, subdued. "I lost him only a few months before my parents."

There was a stretch of silence.

"I'm sorry." Tony turned to Carter. "What were they like?"

"My parents?" Carter smoothed over her surprise and thought about the question. "They loved me," she started. "They... They loved their job, too. They were always gone, always leaving me with Coulson or Rebecca, Laynie's mom. It was hard sometimes, not being really close to them. Playing second fiddle."

Tony muttered a few profanities and ran a hand through his hair. "Crap, Carter... That sounds like my parents."

She chuckled. "Yeah, I bet it does."

Neither of them acknowledged it aloud, as stubborn and closed-off as they were, but they saw each other in a different light. Tony knew how many problems could be born out of parenting methods like those, how one's past can be a sort of ongoing poltergeist.

Tony understood her actions some, and combined with what his daughter told him... Maybe Carter did have a right to act out a little.

But only a little.


	19. Chapter 19

The day after the fight, Wade and Peter approached their friends with their tails between their legs. Wade had been assured they had made up, and passed it on to Peter, but neither of them were quite sure.

They were right to be concerned. While the girls were acting no different than normal, Carter's foul mood and Laynie's hurt from the day previous were still hanging in the air like a dark cloud.

"Hey Wade, Peter," Carter greeted, shoving books into her locker.

Across the hall, Laynie withdrew her math textbook, hissed at it, and shoved it in her big black backpack. "Peter, will you do my math homework for me?"

He scoffed. "I," he said in a sing-song voice "have a date tonight."

Both girls' eyes widened. Laynie let out a tiny squeak.

"With _who_?"

"Gwen Stacy," he preened. The light hit the bruise on his left cheekbone as he lifted his face.

"Yeah, he finally got the guts to ask her out. Walked right up and sat down with her at lunch."

"Oh, so that's where you were," Carter mused. She had been glad for the one-on-one with James while Laynie sat with Wade, but she worried Peter was angry with her.

"C'mere," Laynie said. She grabbed Peter by the shoulder and pulled the tall teen to her eye level. She withdrew a bottle and a scrap of sponge from the bowels of her backpack, then swiped a line across the bruise on his cheek. She dabbed it from every angle, causing Peter to complain.

"There. Bruise gone. Now you're one hundred percent dateable." She held up her phone and showed Peter his reflection in the blank screen.

"You're a wizard," he mumbled.

She laughed and put her things away. "Thanks Hagrid. Wade, are we on for shopping?"

Both Carter and Peter sputtered as their brains tried to make sense of the situation.

"Wade?"

"Shopping?"

"How much is she paying you?" Peter asked.

He wrapped an arm around Laynie's shoulder, shaking her with every word for emphasis. "Hey, I happen to have volunteered. For a good cause. She's still waiting for a dress to physically assault her."

Laynie groaned and pressed her hand to her face. "What horror have I wrought upon myself and department stores city-wide?"

Carter laughed as she shut her locker. "How could you, Laynie?"

Laynie sobered and shoved Wade off, loosely grabbing Carter's sleeve. "You better not walk home alone."

"Why not? Bruce has already grounded me, what else can he do?"

Laynie lowered her voice, forgetting that their best friends were superhuman. "It's not Bruce I'm worried about. It's the defenseless daughter of the Avengers walking home alone."

Carter sighed. "Fine, I'll call someone. Who's home?"

"Thor... who has no driver's license. Clint and Natasha are on a mission, Steve is in debrief. Um, Pepper and Jane might be available. And then Bruce."

Carter sighed again, more dramatically this time, and put her head on her friend's shoulder. "Don't leave me."

She patted her head. "It'll be okay. He's really not angry at you."

Carter watched as Laynie, Wade, and Peter walked away. She sighed as she pulled out her cell phone about to call Bruce. But, it appeared she wouldn't have to as she saw Bruce's car pull up in front of the school.

She pulled her backpack higher up on her shoulder before trekking over to the car.

Pulling the door open, she threw her backpack in the back seat and plopped into her seat. "Hey," she greeted Bruce quietly.

"Hey." Bruce nodded. "How was school?" He asked as he pulled away from the curb.

She shrugged. "It was fine."

"That's good." Bruce said.

For a few minutes they sat quietly with only the sound of the radio to fill the silence.

"I got a B on my biology test today." She blurted out, desperate for some kind of conversation. Even if it was about school.

"Hey," he said, a little excited "that's really good! You had mostly Cs last year."

Carter bobbed her head slightly. "Yeah..."

At a stoplight, Bruce nudged her and said very pointedly, "Carter, that's really good. I know you struggle with biology. How was algebra?"

"The test isn't until tomorrow. I'm... A little nervous," she said reluctantly.

"You know, I can help you with your algebra if you want?" Bruce offered with a smile.

Carter looked up at him, "That'd be nice. Thank you." She smiled back.

* * *

Laynie carefully stepped into the gown, contorting her arms to reach the zipper a moment later.

"Eww, Wade, I really don't like this one either."

"C'mon, show it to me anyway. For science!"

Laynie scoffed and came out of the dressing room, arms crossed over her chest. "For science?"

Wade looked her up and down. "Peter says it all the time. I like it."

"The dress?"

"Yeah!" He rose from the hard dressing room bench and walked a circle around her. "It suits you."

Laynie swished the tulle around her legs. It was tea length with an array of sunset orange and pink colors, and a modest neckline. The hem came up too high for her taste, and her bright red hair clashed terribly with the peachy hues.

"You're nuts." She sat down with Wade on the bench, defeated. "I don't even like dresses. I'll just wear a suit."

He elbowed her. "Don't give up, you'll find something."

She only responded with a sigh.

"Hey... I was going to ask you something last night."

She gave him a sideways glance. "Yeah?"

"I just, um... The formal is, um, a formal event, right?"

She chuckled, sitting up and turning to face him. "Right."

He gulped. "Well when you go to a formal event, there's dancing. A-and grinding, but that's kind of gross, right?"

She grinned. "Mega gross."

"Right. So, so did you know SHIELD makes you learn how to dance? Yeah, it's apparently a really useful thing for spies to know. Anyway, most people can't dance, but I'm SHIELD trained, and I can. And I guess what I'm trying to say, in the most roundabout way... Would you like to dance with me? At the formal?"

She tilted her head, smile fading a little as he spoke. "As a... Date."

"That's the idea."

She blinked, looking down at the suddenly dizzying array of colors on her skirt.

"Laynie?"

She looked up, chewing on her lip now. "I want to go home. I'm gonna change."

He jumped up and tried to stutter out something, _anything_ , as she walked away. But nothing came out before the door shut softly behind her, and he had nothing to do but wait.

Laynie returned from the dressing room much more composed than she'd entered it. Wade fell in step behind her as they exited the store, into the brisk New York Autumn.

She turned around, fiercely chewing on her lip. "Wade, I—I can't do this. I don't want to mess up our friendship by doing anything too soon and... And it's just a bad idea."

Wade nodded solemnly, disappointment all over his face. "I get it. It's okay."

"No, you _don't_ get it. Over the summer, I was kidnapped, right? And before that I lived in New Mexico with my alcoholic biological father for a few weeks?" She stopped to bow her head and cover her face with her hands. "God, my life is screwed up. In New Mexico, I met a guy named Shaun. Shaun was adorable and sweet and I really liked him. After I was kidnapped, he was worried and came to visit."

"Okay," Wade said slowly. He had no clue where she was taking the train of thought.

"He came to visit. Last summer. And he wanted to date, so we tried it and he just wasn't the same after that and I feel like it was my fault."

"So you won't date me... Because Shaun didn't work out?"

"No, I won't date you because I miss Shaun. All the time. And I would still have him if we hadn't tried to date. You're—you're too important to me for that."

"Laynie, if you're worried I'll—"

"Please Wade, please drop it for now. There's no reason it can't wait, right?"

Wade hesitated. "Right. Of course."

Laynie let out a sigh of relief and let her shoulder sag. "Cool."

"But can we still dance? Because you're probably the only person that will let me show off my mad skills."

She grinned, linking his arm through his as they walked toward the tower. "Sure thing."


	20. Chapter 20

"Bruce," Carter whined. "Math doesn't make any sense."

Bruce chuckled. "You'll get it eventually."

"Yeah, but eventually isn't now." She huffed.

"Patience is a virtue." Bruce quipped. "Keep going." He nodded to the open algebra book and notebook in front of her.

Carter groaned, but nonetheless went back to working on the problems in the textbook.

After struggling through the problems for a good twenty minutes, she gave the notebook to him to check.

He scanned the page quickly. "You got a couple wrong, but the majority of them are correct. Good job." Bruce praised her.

Carter couldn't keep the grin from her face. "Thanks."

"Bruce?" Carter said quietly.

"Yeah?"

"I just wanted to apologize for how I've been acting recently. I'm just really sorry." Carter apologized.

Bruce sighed. "It's alright, Carter. I understand. It's been a rough year for you." He reached across the table and tousled her hair. "Don't worry about it too much, okay? I forgive you." He smiled.

She went back to fix the problems she had done wrong. As Bruce checked them, she fidgeted with her pencil.

"How long am I grounded?"

"Well, I feel like you've learned your lesson. How about the rest of today, and then we call it quits. We have a busy weekend ahead of us."

Carter grinned. "Yeah, I guess so. Whose idea was it to go camping in the middle of November anyway? It's going to be freezing."

"Steve's," he groaned. "He thinks we need to 'bond as a family and a team'. I don't disagree... I just wish we could do it in the Bahamas."

Carter laughed. "Well, maybe it'll be fun."

"Ah, as long as nobody is bitten by a spider, or snake. Or coyote." He grimaced. "Maybe we should pack extra first aid supplies."

* * *

Laynie and Carter laughed as Wade finished his imitation of their nutty biology teacher.

As Peter approached behind him with a stranger trailing behind, Wade nearly stabbed him as he waved a fork around. Peter balanced his tray on one hand and used the other to swipe his friend's fork.

"Act normal," he whispered.

All three blinked.

"How?" Wade whispered back urgently.

Peter set down his tray and turned to his blonde tag-along to take hers.

"Guys, this is Gwen. Gwen, this is Laynie, Carter, and Wade." He gestured to each of them in turn and turned to his questionable meal.

"Hi!" Carter chirped happily.

Laynie smiled at the newcomer. "It's nice to meet you."

"Yeah, hey." Wade greeted as he shoved a sandwich into his mouth.

Carter rolled her eyes. "Hey Wade, next maybe you could try talking without food in your mouth."

Wade made a face at her and turned back to his food.

Gwen laughed. "It's nice to meet you all."

Lunch continued silently for a moment, until Laynie awkwardly attempted to strike up a conversation. "So Gwen, what do you like to do?"

"Oh, well, I work on yearbook and I also intern at Oscorp." Gwen answered with a smile.

"Ah, that's cool." Carter commented.

Gwen nodded. "Yeah, it's a fun job when you like science as much as I do."

Laynie cringed a little, laughing. "Sounds like torture to me! Yearbook is cool though, I might do it next year."

Gwen laughed. "There's something for everyone at Oscorp."

Peter almost choked on his lunch.

Wade, snickering, whacked him between the shoulders.

Oblivious, Gwen carried on about the areas she's worked in and some of her mentors. "You would think it's really complicated, but most of it is entry-level college stuff."

Carter and Laynie laughed.

"I'm sorry, I'm rambling aren't I?" Gwen apologized quickly.

"No, no, it's okay." Carter waved off her apology. "We see Peter practically everyday and we live with two geniuses. We're used to people rambling about one thing or another."

Gwen's mouth worked for a second, and when she finally found words they came out non-stop. "Oh my god, you guys are- you're the ones that were adopted by The Avengers. Peter!" She tapped his arm. "You didn't tell me." She bit down on her bottom lip. "Sorry. Wow."

Laynie smiled. "It's okay! It's not like we're royalty or anything, really."

Wade opened his mouth to comment, and Peter stuck his elbow in his ribs. Wade pouted instead.

James came to break the silence a minute later, sliding in beside Carter.

"Hey Gwen," he said casually. "We still on for tonight, Carter?"

"Yeah! You have any plans?"

"None so far. Arcade?"

"Ooh, sounds good."

He pecked her on the cheek and moved on to another table.

Carter squinted after her boyfriend. "Does anyone know that girl?"

"I think I have a class with her," Wade volunteered. "But I'm not sure."

Carter screwed her lips together as she stared at her boyfriend chatting with the girl. "I'll ask later."

And ask she did. When James picked her up in the lobby of Avengers Tower for their pre-dinner walk through Central Park, it was the first thing out of her mouth.

"Okay wait," James said, hands spread in front of him. "What girl?"

"The one you talked to after me in the cafeteria today."

He pulled Carter's hand into his and shook it as they walked toward Central Park. "She's just a friend, Carter."

She nodded a little. "Okay. How did you meet her?"

"Carter!" He exclaimed. "She's just a friend! You hang out with Peter and Wade all the time and I don't freak out, do I?"

"Well..."

"Exactly. Can we just enjoy tonight?"

"Yeah, you're right." Carter admitted sheepishly. "I'm sorry. Let's just forget about it."

James sighed, but smiled brightly. "Thank you." He pulled her closer to him and kissed her forehead. "Besides, no other girl could ever compare to you."

Carter blushed slightly. "If you're gonna get all mushy on me, I'm going to go back to the Tower." She teased.

"Okay, okay." He grinned.

The walk through the park was nice down time from the craziness Carter's life had been filled with. Between Wade's antics and her fights with Laynie and Bruce, Carter was feeling drained. James was always so calm and quiet, just /there, not needing reassurance like Laynie or attention like Wade. It was nice to have someone cater to her every once in a while.

After the walk in the park, they stopped in a restaurant nearby for a quick dinner before heading to the arcade.

"Yes, they have a claw machine." James grinned before dashing off toward the machine.

"C'mon James, all claw machines are rigged, you'll never get one of those stuffed animals." Carter shook her head.

He gasped and held a hand to his heart. "You wound me, Carter. You really have so little faith in me?"

"Yes." She deadpanned, rolling her eyes at her drama queen of a boyfriend.

"Fine then, I'll prove it to you that I can win one of these stuffed animals, pick which one you want and I'll get it for you." He replied.

Carter sighed. "Okay, but it's not gonna work." She stepped up to the machine and searched around for a bit. She then pointed to a small stuffed cow in the back that happened to be partially covered by a giant frog. "That one. I want that one."

"Piece of cake." He said cockily before shoving a couple of quarters in the machine.

Carter watched as James meticulously placed the claw over the cow, moving it ever so slightly to get it in the perfect position. He slammed his hand down on the button that made the claw descend.

"C'mon, c'mon." He bounced on his feet.

The claw slowly descended, before quickly snapping it's metal jaws closed around the frog that sat atop the cow.

It moved across the machine to drop the frog in the hole where you collected your prize.

"WINNER!" The machine blared loudly as the frog plopped into the prize slot.

"Hah!" James said proudly, shoving the frog into Carter's arms. "I told you I could get one."

"Um no, you said you could get the cow. This is a frog." Carter smirked.

James narrowed his eyes before turning back to the machine, "Fine, you want the cow. I'll get the cow."

Carter laughed. "Okay, you got lucky the first time, but there is no way you'll win a second time."

"WINNER!"

Carter's mouth flopped open when she saw the cow in James' hands. "How did you do that?" She asked incredulously.

"I'm really good at claw machines." He smiled.

"No one is that good at claw machines. They're all rigged. There is no way!" She glared at the machine. "I wanna try, give me some quarters."

And she did indeed try. And try. And try. But to no avail. She could not win a stuffed animal from the claw machine.

"Ah forget it. You got lucky." She grabbed the two stuffed animals from James.

"Or I've worked at this arcade for the past two summers and know all the tricks." He admitted.

"I knew it! I knew there was no way you could be that good." Carter grinned smugly.

"Okay, okay. You got me." He held up his hands in surrender.

Carter and James didn't hang around at the arcade for long. They had school the next day and for Carter, a road trip.

James stopped about a block away from the tower, looking down at Carter with a smile.

She buried her burning cheeks in her stuffed animals as he stared. "What?"

"Nothing. I just think you're really pretty. I wish we could hang out more often."

She leaned into his side as they started walking again. "You know you could sit with us at lunch more often?"

"It's hard. I have a lot of other friends, and I just don't get along with Wade and Peter that well. Maybe /you should sit with /me."

Carter considered the idea. "We could take turns."

He smiled as they halted before the tower entrance. As always, there was a guard at the door, waiting to escort her up.

Before Carter had any time to react, James swooped down and full-on kissed her on the mouth.

Carter shook off her shock quickly and kissed him back.

They pulled apart after a few moments.

Carter looked down at her feet shyly. "Thanks for the great night."

James nodded. "Yeah, of course."

"And um, thanks for the stuffed animals." She smiled gently.

James chuckled. "No problem."

She turned to walk away, but quickly turned back. Standing on her tiptoes, she kissed James cheek. "Love you. Night!" She ran off to join the waiting night guard.

"Night!" James called after her.

Carter rode the elevator up on a cloud. When she skipped into her apartment and sat down with a pint of ice cream and her stuffed animals, she didn't even notice the strange looks Laynie was giving her.

"Um, earth to Carter?"

She turned away from the corny superhero show on the television. "Hmm?"

"Have a good night?"

She grinned from ear to ear and nodded. "Look at what James got for me! He's an actual wizard with the claw machine."

Laynie laughed. "Is he now? That's all you need in a man, right?"

Carter stuck her tongue out at her friend.

"I did your literature homework, Cupid. You definitely owe me."

"Oh man, I completely forgot about that!" Carter called a thank you to her friend as she wandered off to bed, and went to lay down herself.

As she tucked her cow and frog under her arms, she couldn't help but wonder if she was rushing into this relationship.

But that's what being a teenager is about, right? She reasoned that she was bound to make a few mistakes along the way.

Besides, James would never do anything to hurt her.


	21. Chapter 21

"Hurry up!" Carter yelled out the RV window.

"We're working on it!" Peter shouted back from his bedroom window.

Carter huffed and sat back in her seat.

"They better hurry up or I'm leaving without them." Tony told Pepper.

"We're not leaving without them, Tony." She replied not once looking up from the map unfolded in front of her.

A few minutes later, Peter and Wade bolted out their front door and into the RV.

"About time." Tony said under his breath.

The two teens plopped into the seats next to Carter and Laynie.

Across from them sat Steve, Natasha, and Bruce. Clint and Thor were busy playing a game of Crazy Eights at the table in the back of the RV. Meanwhile, Tony was at the wheel and Pepper was his navigator.

Peter nudged Carter, who sat to his left. "It's still strange to see the world's mightiest heroes doing things like that."

Carter snorted. "They're a buncha soccer moms at heart." As an afterthought she added, "Especially Thor."

"I think it's cool," Laynie whispered. "I'd be concerned if they were all a bunch of emotionless robots. I mean, we don't want people like that protecting us."

"It's still weird."

"I won't disagree." Laynie peered across her two friends to look at Wade, who simultaneously looked like he was trying to melt into his seat and about to vibrate right out of it. "Wade, didn't Peter make you go before you left?"

"Ha ha," he said in a monotone. "I'm excited! And terrified. I've never been camping."

"Why the terrified?" Carter asked.

"Tony hates me. I think I only got a free pass to come because Steve is trying way too hard to not hate me."

"Wade! That's not true. My dad doesn't trust you at all, but I doubt he hates you. Neither does Steve."

"Okay," Pepper called from the front of the vehicle. "We're stopping for lunch before we hit the highways. Any votes?"

Carter looked out the window. "I vote Taco Bell because I'm hungry and it's the closest thing to us."

Wade nodded in agreement.

Since the RV could never hope to fit through the drive through, it was parked in an adjacent, mostly empty lot and the Avengers trooped across the street for tacos. It was, as always, a spectacle. People treated them like royalty and took photos, and Laynie and Carter tried not to feel self concious. It was something they were still adjusting to.

With several armloads of mexican food, they crossed the street again and settled down for a not-so-healthy taco brunch.

Peter took a couple of bites of his taco before looking up at everyone else. "Do these tacos taste a little funny or is it just me?"

"It's Taco Bell, what did you expect it to taste like?" Clint asked curiously.

"Alas," Wade said mournfully (or as mournfully as one can with a mouthful of taco). "Not every taco is made equal. Or by Aunt May."

So the bunch munched on their tacos and set back on the road. For a while afterward, they played card games with the others.

Laynie was the first to fall. She said she wasn't feeling well and stretched out on the floor with her laptop. Peter was second, and then Carter, and Wade last.

"Taco bell did not give us food poisoning!" Wade cried, aghast. "Tacos are holy food, they cannot be tainted!" His stomach rolled as Tony took a sharp turn, and he secretly doubted his own words.

Laynie peeked out a window and saw nothing but a mountainside. Only a tiny rail and Tony's driving skills were keeping them from flying off the mountain and into the foggy oblivion waiting below. She crashed back to the floor. "Okay, I'm gonna puke. I hate heights."

"Why did I suggest Taco Bell?" Carter curled up on the RV seat. "I hate me."

"Taco Bell didn't do anything! It must be lunch from school yesterday," Wade insisted. "I feel fine."

"Liar," Carter spat. "There is no way you feel fine after eating that junk."

"I do!" he insisted. His voice sounded a little weak. "I- I have never felt..." Wade paused for a moment, and then threw up into the nearest Taco Bell bag.

Carter threw a hand over her mouth trying to shield herself from the smell. She yanked the window open, hoping to push some of the horrible smell out of the RV. "Oh..." She grabbed a bag near her and threw up in it.

"Tony," Bruce called as him and Natasha gathered around the sick teens. "You're gonna want to find a place to pull over I think."

"Ha! Good luck with that. There isn't an exit for, what Pepper, half an hour?" The smell reached him as he finished his sentence, and he instantly took it back. "Never mind! Hold on to your butts, we're pulling off the road!"

All four teens moaned as Tony swerved onto the side of the road.

"Tony, why do you hate us?" Carter grumbled, curling into herself.

Pepper grabbed the first aid kit they put together and started to rummage through it for something to help with the nausea.

"This kind of stuff wasn't supposed to happen until we actually got to the camp site." Tony said, holding his shirt over his mouth and nose.

"What can we say, we're over achievers," Laynie joked feebly.

Peter groaned, and nobody knew if it was at Laynie's bad joking or the horrible stench in the RV.

The car stopped smoothly and Tony jumped out as if it were on fire. Five second later, everyone found out that Clint gets sympathy nausea.

"This is awful," Laynie commented, sitting in the grass on the side of the road.

Thor, Natasha and Steve, who apparently had the strongest stomachs of the group, were cleaning out the RV while the four teens and Clint sat on the side of the road, sheltered by the RV, recuperating.

"Taco Bell has betrayed us all," Wade mumbled.

Peter was still feeling too sick to speak, but he was sure he'd never eat at Taco Bell again.

Tony folded up the road map and sat down between Laynie and Carter, putting an arm around either of them. "There's good news, though. We're only about an hour away from the camp site. Natasha's almost got the RV smell-free. We're not asking how."

Laynie smiled and leaned into her dad, taking shelter from the wind. "Natasha is magical. She's my new favorite person."

"Everything's cleaned up," Bruce said, as he walked toward them.

"Yay..." Carter cheered weakly.

The four teens and Clint slowly got up off the ground and made their way back into the RV. Tony returned to his seat at the wheel, while Bruce practically threw pills for the nausea at everyone.

It wasn't long before Carter passed out next to Bruce. Bouncing back quickly, Wade took to pestering Peter for the rest of the ride to the campsite. Laynie decided to take refuge in the back of the RV with her phone.

A hour later, they pulled onto the campsite, and started unpacking.

Steve enlisted Laynie and Carter's help with the tents.

"Where does this pole go?" Carter asked in confusion.

Laynie grabbed one side of the tent. "I think it goes here." She said, looking at the tent curiously.

Steve sighed, but smiled watching them try and fail to put their tent up. Eventually he took mercy on them and helped them set it up.

"Big boyscout," Laynie grumbled, watching the super soldier put her tent together.

She looked at the growing camp around her, seeing Clint helping Wade and Peter set up, Bruce putting up the large one he would share with Clint, and Natasha sitting at the mouth of her small, finished tent. Steve and Thor's tent was long set up, and the Asgardian was snoring off his Taco Bell.

"Where are my parents sleeping?" Laynie asked the question to any who would answer.

"The RV," Natasha answered. "Tony's too much of a wuss to sleep out here like a big girl."

"That's not fair!" Carter burst out. "Why are they sleeping in there when we have to sleep with the bugs and dirt?"

"Aw come on!" Laynie cried, slinging an arm around her friend. "Don't be such a baby. This will be fun!"

"Sure, you say that now. But, what about when a spider gets into our tent and tries to kill us? What then, Laynie?" Carter asked.

Laynie snorted. "I don't think any spiders are going to kill us, Carter."

"That's what they want you to think," Carter hissed.

"You know, a spider tried to kill Peter. That's how he got his awesome spider powers."

Laynie punched Wade in the arm. "Shut up, you're gonna tip them off."

He scoffed.

"Anyway, spiders. They are not out to get us. Taco Bell, on the other hand..."

"Taco Bell is not to blame!" Wade shouted from his tent.

Laynie rolled her eyes.

"Spiders, they're going to kill us." Carter nodded, before crawling inside their tent to set out her sleeping bag.

Laynie scoffed, "They are not." She followed Carter inside.

After setting out their sleeping bags, they rejoined everyone else at a nearby picnic table.

"So, what exactly are we going to be doing on this trip?" Carter asked curiously, "You know, besides being attacked by all the horrible bugs that the wilderness has to offer." She quickly slapped a hand over her shoulder, effectively killing a mosquito that had landed there.

"I'd like to go hiking," Bruce said, looking to others for more suggestions.

"I want to poke wild animals." Wade nodded to himself, as if agreeing with his own idea.

"Hiking sounds good," Steve said. "We brought a telescope to look at stars."

Tony coughed " _Boyscout_ ," and said no more.

"Okay," Laynie said slowly. "Any other ideas?"

After a moment of silence, Natasha piped up. "Why don't we go for a walk?"

"Why not?" Pepper smiled.

"Sounds good." Carter leaned against the table lazily. "Looks like you might get to poke those wild animals, Wade."

Wade grinned.

Natasha grabbed the pack with the first aid kit in it and threw it over her shoulder. "Then let's go."

Minutes later, they were trekking through the nearby woods.

Wade caught sight of a raccoon and ran after it.

"Wade, no. No, come back." Peter hurried after him.

"There are too many bugs." Carter whined.

Bruce chuckled. "It's the woods, Carter. There are going to be bugs."

She swatted at a few more mosquitoes. "But they're coming in droves. _Droves_. Why are they all after me?"

Bruce grabbed a bug out of the air. "Because you're an easy meal," he teased.

Carter sighed and sat on a fallen tree. "I don't like the woods."

Bruce sat beside her and ruffled her hair. "It'll be okay. Just don't wander off alone, or the mosquitoes might carry you off."

"That's not funny." Carter pouted.

Bruce smiled. Grabbing her hands, he pulled her up off the tree. "Come on, when we get back to the campsite we'll find some bug spray."

They started walking to catch up to the rest of the group. When they did, they saw Wade climbing up a tree.

Carter came to stand next to Laynie. "What is he doing?"

"He chased the raccoon up the tree." Laynie sighed.

"Wade, leave the poor animal alone." Peter shouted up at him. "It didn't do anything to you."

Laynie groaned, putting her head on Carter's shoulder. "He's gonna die."

"He's not gonna die," Peter argued.

"I POKED IT!" Wade shouted. There was a screech a second later.

"He's gonna die," he sighed. "I'll go get him."

Peter went up the tree at a remarkable speed, tossed Wade down, and made it safely back to the ground.

"No more animal poking."

Wade, still sitting on the forest floor, closely examined his bleeding finger. After a moment of deliberation, he stuck it in his mouth. "Okay."

Laynie threw up her hands and walked away.

Carter ran after her. "Can we go back to the campsite now?"

"I think that's a good idea." Steve nodded.

Steve led the way back with everyone else trudging along behind him.

As soon as they got back Carter snatched up the bug spray and completely doused herself in it before crawling into her tent. "Come get me when dinner's ready."

Laynie snorted at her friend. She joined Tony and Pepper inside the RV as they set to making dinner.

Laynie stretched out in the back of the RV, watching her parents bicker and banter while they cooked. "You know, most people cook outside when they camp."

Tony stopped, giving his daughter a perplexed look. "Where all the bugs are? No way."

She threw her hands up. "Why is everyone so afraid of the bugs? Like, they aren't evil or out to get us or anything!"

Pepper laughed, but Tony was less amused.

"I'm not going to die of bug poisoning. We are cooking and sleeping _inside_ , where nobody will be bitten, stung or bitten."

"You said bitten twice," Laynie and Pepper both pointed out.

"I couldn't think of a third thing!" He threw down the towel that had been on his shoulder and made for the exit. "I'm going to see if I can find the tongs."

Laynie jumped up and ran after her dad, linking their arms together once she caught up. "So, trees. Autumn trees. So colorful. So romantic."

"I know what you're doing little person. I am _not_ proposing to Pepper amidst these animals."

"What did the forest animals do to anyone?"

He pointed to where Wade and Thor were sitting cross legged by the most pathetic campfire ever, already covered in marshmallow goo. "I meant those animals."

Laynie drew her lips in a tight line. "Okay, I have no excuse for those two. But! I heard Steve talk about some falls nearby. You could take her there and propose!"

"What if I get dirt on my knee?"

The conversation died away as they reached Steve's tent. Tony harassed Steve until he gave up the tongs, and they picked up again on the way back to the RV.

"Dad, I know you aren't afraid of dirt. I'm convinced you /like it. So just propose already or I'll give the ring to Pepper and let her do it."

Tony pouted a little. "Fine! God, I wouldn't have taken in the little pest if I knew how pushy it is!"

Laynie grinned. "And I wouldn't have let you if I'd known you were a big fat wimp."

Tony rolled his eyes and waved her away. "Shoo, go annoy someone else."


	22. Chapter 22

The first night at the campsite, Laynie left the top of the tent unzipped to watch the stars before she fell asleep. Carter doubted the intelligence of her choice at first, seemingly convicted spiders would rain down from the sky on little spider-parachutes just to get her. Eventually, they struck a compromise and left the netting zipped up.

Almost asleep, Carter sat upright in her sleeping bag and grabbed Laynie's shoulder. "Did you hear that?" she asked urgently.

Laynie shoved her friend's hand off and rolled over. "The forest is noisy. Go to sleep."

Carter laid down, uneasily listening to the forest around her. She could hear Thor snoring like a chainsaw across the campsite, drowning out Tony's smaller snores. There were cicadas all around, providing a constant white noise. Every now and again, the wind would rustle the dry leaves in the trees.

"Wait, there it is again!"

Laynie sat up, staring into the dark blearily and listening. "Carter, I don't hear anyth-"

Before Laynie could finish, there was the distant sound of laughter. It almost sounded like it could be an animal, but it definitely didn't sound like any of her friends or family.

"Did you hear it that time?"

"Yeah." Laynie grabbed her shoes from the other side of the tent. "I'm going to tell my dad."

Carter grabbed her friend's arm. "No! What if you get forestnapped?"

Laynie laughed. "It'll be okay Carter. I'm just running to the RV. Besides, we're kinda the only ones here without superpowers."

"That's the point! You're defenseless!"

"No, the point is that we're really, _really_ safe. I'll be right back." Laynie unzipped the mouth of the tent, crawled out, and sprinted for the RV. She'd never admit it to Carter, but she was teriffied of being alone, in the dark, in the abandoned-looking campsite.

She knocked on the door of the RV softly, not wanting to wake anyone but her parents. "Dad? Pepper?" Laynie pressed her ear to the door. She could hear her dad's snores, but nothing else.

She squinted into the dark, toward the direction the laughter had come from. There was no light, and no more noise. Deciding it was nothing but Carter making her paranoid, she made her way back to the tent at a forced stroll.

Halfway there, the laughter started up again. When she broke into a run, she slammed into something and screamed.

Carter tore out of the tent barefoot, running to save her friend from the unknown horrors of the forest. What she found was slightly less terrifying than she anticipated.

Wade was hugging Laynie while she tried to punch him repeatedly and mumbled some nasty things she probably learned from her father. Peter was standing off to the side, giggling.

"Guys," Carter whined. "That wasn't funny." She crossed her arms with a huff.

Peter staunched his laughter just long enough to reply to Carter. "Sorry, we couldn't help ourselves. You guys make it too easy."

"You're supposed to be the one protecting us from Wade's stupid pranks." Laynie frowned at Peter.

Peter just grinned.

Carter sighed. "Well, I'm going back to bed. See you idiots in the morning."

Wade grabbed her arm before she could walk away. "Wait, since we're all up," He smiled mischievously. "how about a bit of exploring?"

"Um, no thank you. I have no interest in being eaten by a bear." Carter declined.

"C'mon, it'll be fun." Wade pleaded.

While he was distracted, Laynie broke out of Wade's hold and landed a solid punch on his arm. "If the queen of bad ideas here thinks it's a bad idea, there's no way I'm going."

"Queen of bad ideas?" Carter asked.

"I think it sounds like fun," Peter said. "Besides, Wade practically can't die and I'm Spider-Man. It's not like we couldn't handle it if something went wrong."

"Not you too Peter," Laynie groaned. "I'm beginning to lose faith in this forest. It's making everyone insane."

Carter raised her hand. "Why am I the queen of bad ideas when Wade is here?"

Laynie winced sympathetically before breaking the news to her friend. "Rafters, Carter. Twice."

Carter shrugged.

After several minutes of listening to Wade shamelessly pleading with them, the girls reluctantly agreed to go with them. Wade cheered and ran off into the woods. Laynie and Carter could barely keep up with him, so Peter brought up the rear to make sure nobody was lost.

"I really hope that our parents don't find out that we snuck out," Laynie whispered nervously.

"Don't worry. We'll be back long before anyone wakes up." Wade grabbed her hand, dragging her deeper into the forest.

Carter groaned. "Wade, wait up."

Her and Peter quickly caught up to the other two.

"So, are we just going to wander aimlessly? Is that the plan?" Carter asked.

"The plan is to find... something exciting," Wade answered. "There's gotta be something exciting in the woods."

"At night? There are wolves. And coyotes. Maybe we'll gett mauled. Is that exciting enough?"

Wade elbowed Laynie. "Cut it out, you'll be fine."

"I have an idea. Since we don't really have anything better to do, why don't we play manhunt?" Peter suggested.

Carter groaned.

"What's manhunt?" Wade asked, momentarily confused. They stopped moving.

"Basically, it's like hide and seek, except when the person who's 'it' tags someone that other person also becomes 'it' and they can tag someone and make them 'it' too. The game ends when everyone's been tagged." Laynie explained quickly. "I'm not so sure it's the best idea to play that in an unfamiliar place."

"Sounds like fun." Wade grinned wildly.

Peter chuckled and glanced at Carter. "What do you say, you in?"

"Fine," Carter sighed, "But if we get caught by the adults, you guys are taking the blame."

"Deal!" Wade and Peter replied in unison.

"So, who's going to be 'it'?" Laynie questioned.

There was a moment of silence.

"Not 'it'!" Carter shouted quickly.

Wade and Peter shouted 'not it!' soon after.

"That's not fair! I wasn't ready!" Laynie cried.

"Deal with it." Carter deadpanned. She took out her phone and turned on the flashlight. "Count to 100," she called over her shoulder as she walked away.

Laynie, standing alone in the woods, groaned. She wasn't good at manhunt to begin with. Playing it in an unfamiliar place on such a dark night could only create disasters.

"1...2...3..."

She rushed her way through the nineties, anxious to find her friends. She couldn't hear even the faintest rustle anymore. When her time was up, she took off in the direction Carter had gone. She reasoned Carter would be the easiest to find, since her other opponents were superhuman.

"Carter... Here Carter, Carter, Carter..."

Laynie hummed to herself while she picked her way around the trees, looking for any signs of life.

"And IIIIII would rather be sleeping," she sang under her breath.

Once Laynie made it to the area Carter had hidden, it was easy to find her. She hadn't been able to turn off her phone's flashlight, for fear of being eaten. Laynie followed the light, and found her hiding underneath a tiny outcropping over the bank of a creek.

"Okay, now here comes the hard part," Laynie sighed. "We have to find Wade and Peter. AKA the genetically modified, SHIELD trained mischief maker and the genetically modified, super sneaky quiet guy."

"Uh, well, I'm pretty sure I heard Wade pass by earlier. Either that or it was a wild animal." Carter offered feebly.

Laynie shrugged. "It's a start I guess. Which way did you hear the sounds coming from?"

The other girl looked around a bit before throwing her hand up in a random direction. "That way."

"Okay, let's go." Laynie linked her arm in Carter's before walking off to hopefully find Wade.

They crossed over a few creeks and a couple fallen trees.

"Do you think they would notice if we just returned to camp without them?" Carter wondered aloud.

Laynie shrugged. "It would serve them right at least, for scaring me like that."

Carter snickered.

Eventually, the two stumbled upon a small clearing surrounded by old trees.

"Do you hear that?" Laynie asked, tilting her head toward the way they'd come.

"If Wade scares us again, I swear I will kill him," Carter mumbled.

"No no, it's not Wade. He's quiet. This is..."

"Hey guys!"

Both girls turned toward the voice with the biggest deer in the headlights look.

A flashlight fell on them, and then turned skyward. A dark-haired girl was revealed in the white light.

"Who... what are you doing out here?" Laynie stuttered. "Who are you?"

She frowned, like she was confused. "Clint never told you about me?"

" _Clint_?" Carter spluttered. "You know him?"

"Yeah! You're Carter and Laynie, and I'm Kate Bishop." The girl approached them with her hand outstretched, and the girls just stared at her. From less of a distance, they could make out cuts and bruises on her arms and face, but she still wore a bright smile.

"Kate Bishop," Laynie repeated. "How do you know Clint?"

"Well that's kinda a long story, ya see-"

Wade came charging into the clearing just then, shouting like a maniac as he charged Kate with a big stick. Kate sidestepped and pushed the flashlight into Carter's hand. She whipped a bow off her shoulders and strung an arrow before any of them could even blink an eye.

With an arrow trained on Wade's face, Kate looked over her shoulder and asked "Is this guy a friend of yours?"

Laynie sighed. "That's Wade. Wade, this is Kate. She apparently knows Clint."

"She can't be trusted!" Wade declared. He threw down his stick anyway, though, when she put away the bow and arrow.

"We should get back to camp," Carter said. "Clint will want to know you're here. At least, I think he will."

"Yeah, I kinda ran into some trouble back home. I'm actually here because I need Clint's help..." Kate grimaced. "He told me not to need his help."

"Well, just follow us. We'll take you back to camp." Carter smiled, changing direction so they were heading back to the campsite.

Kate grinned and followed after her. Laynie, marveling at her friend's sense of direction, trailed behind with Wade.

"Are we sure about this? What if she's just trying to trick us into thinking she's one of the good guys?" Wade suspiciously.

"Wade, we're taking her to Clint now. He'll be able to tell us if she's lying or not." Laynie rolled her eyes. "Sometimes you just have to trust that not everyone's out to get you."

After a few minutes, they stumbled out of the forest and into their little campsite.

Stepping up to Clint's tent, Carter quietly unzipped the entrance and poked her head in. "Clint, wake up. A friend of yours is here. She says she got in trouble and needs your help."

"Dang it, Kate!"

All three girls recoiled from the tent as Clint shouted, while Wade completely broke off for his tent.

Kate laughed nervously as he clambered out of the tent. "You know how you told me not to provoke the mafia?"

He gave her a totally dead-eyed stare.

"I provoked the mafia."

With his hands on his hips, his chin hit his chest and he sighed. " _Dang it_ , Kate."

"Okay, time out!" Laynie called. "Are you a superhero? Is she a superhero? Is she your _sidekick_?"

"I'm Hawkeye," Kate grinned proudly.

"Dang it, Kate. Stop trying to steal my name." He turned to Laynie and Carter. "We're partners, sort of."

"Partners? I thought Natasha was your partner?" Carter interrupted.

"We are-" He tried to answer.

Laynie raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "So you have two partners?"

"Yes, I have two partners." Clint said exasperatedly.

Laynie picked up where she left off with the rapidfire questions. "Is Natasha okay with that? Can you _do_ that? Is that, like, crime fighting partner polygamy?"

Kate sputtered and laughed while Clint sighed again.

Bruce crawled out of the tent, woken by the noise, and squinted at everyone around him. "What's going on? Who's this?"

"Clint's partner!" Laynie exclaimed. "He has two."

"I'm Hawkeye," Kate answered, holding her hand out to shake his. "Nice to meet you."

"Kaaaate," Clint groaned.

Bruce shook her hand in confusion. "I'm sorry, but when did she get here?"

"Oh, I got here just a little bit ago, I met them and their friend out in the woods." Kate explained with a smile.

Bruce was suddenly wide awake. "Wait, you said you met them 'out in the woods'?"

"Yeah," Kate bobbed her head.

Bruce turned to Carter and Laynie. "So, who would like to explain why you two we're out in the woods this early in the morning?"

Carter chuckled nervously. "Well, you see..." she started.

"Peter and Wade made us do it!" Laynie blurted out.

Bruce sighed. "Right. And where are they?"

"Wade ran for the tent and..." As Laynie trailed off, both Carter and Laynie's eyes grew wide. "We forgot Peter in the woods!"

"You lost Peter?" Clint asked.

"We didn't mean to! We were playing manhunt, which was also Wade's idea!" Carter added as a disclaimer.

"And you _forgot_ to find Peter?" Clint asked again, growing more and more incredulous.

"Okay, okay. Let's just-"

Bruce was cut off as Tony came charging over to the tent in his flannel pajama pants, looking grumpier than ever. "What is going on? Who are you?"

"She's not Hawkeye!" Clint shouted as Kate opened her mouth. "For the last time, this is my sorta kinda partner Kate Bishop."

Tony frowned, then looked down to Laynie. "Is there anything here for me to parent?"

"Well, we went out in the woods at night without permission."

"Were you eaten? No? Then go back to bed." He waved as he marched back to the RV. "I don't want to hear you again until morning!" As Thor let out a particularly large snore, he jumped away from the tent and almost fell. Laynie. Carter, and Kate snickered.

"Carter, Laynie, Kate can share a tent with you two tonight, right?" Bruce asked.

"No! She's going home. Right now."

"Clint! The mafia seriously wants my head!"

"Then you shouldn't have provoked them," he hissed, pushing Kate toward the woodline.

Laynie grabbed Clint's shoulder, turning him and catching his full attention. The two girls had put on their best puppy dog faces, silently begging Kate be allowed to stay.

"Ugh, fine! She can stay the night."

"Or until the mafia doesn't want to kill me?"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Get outta my sight." Clint crawled back in his tent.

Kate turned with a grin. "He loves me. I'll go find Peter. Which tent is yours?"

"That one!" Carter jabbed her thumb toward a tent in the middle of campsite.

"Okay! Be right back!" She ran off into the woods to find the missing boy.

Bruce looked down at the two girls, "You two will go back to your tent and you will not come out until it is morning, do you understand?"

"Yes sir." They each said and scampered off to their tent.

After getting in their tent, they waited patiently for Kate to return. A good ten minutes later, they heard two voices passing their tent.

"I can't believe they forgot about me," Peter said.

"Yeah, that was probably my fault, if I hadn't of shown up they probably would have still been looking for you." They heard Kate respond.

"Ah, oh well. It was nice meeting you. I suppose I'll see you in the morning?"

"Yep, night!"

Moments later, Kate was crawling into their tent. "Hi!" She chirped happily. "I found your friend."

Carter grinned. "Yeah, we heard."

Laynie groaned, half asleep again. "Poor Peter."

"He wasn't upset or anything," Kate said, crawling into her borrowed sleeping bag. "He was totally prepared to stay there until morning if he could win," she snickered.

"Who knew Peter was so competitive?" Carter yawned and flopped back on her sleeping bag. "So, Kate, how long have you known Clint?"

Kate put her hands under her head, looking up at the stars contentedly. "Oh, two years now? I was fourteen... So, yeah. Two years. He saved my life."

"So you're a superhero?" Laynie croaked, on the verge of sleep."

She sighed. "After I met Clint and saw what he could do, I trained. Swords, knives, martial arts, and archery. I went after the people that tried to hurt me, but Clint showed up. He'd been tracking them too, and he stopped me from doing anything I'd regret. He said he was going to train my mind since I had already trained my body. Said he'd turn me into a hero."

"So you poke the mafia with a stick," Carter said lightly.

Kate laughed. "I'm a work in progress?"

"Go to sleep," Laynie whined.

The two other girls giggled and rolled over, settling in to sleep away what was left for the night.


	23. Chapter 23

The next morning was nothing short of busy. The small campsite was full of hungry, cold superheroes by six AM, and the teenagers joined not long afterward.

Once everyone had been fed, the sun began to break through the trees and warm the group.

"Alright!" Tony said, getting up from his camping chair. "Pepper, Laynie, would you like to go for a walk to the falls?"

Pepper shook her head, not looking up from the book she was reading.

"Um, Dad, do you know where the falls are?"

He blinked. "Of course not. They can't be that hard to find, right?"

"We were near them last night," Carter said. "That's where I was hiding."

"Oh yeah! But I don't think I could find that place again."

"Wade could," Carter suggested obliviously.

Wade jumped up, ready to adventure. "Sure could! Let's go."

"Can I come?" Carter asked.

Tony planted his face in his hands, groaning. "Never mind. I'll stay here."

"Dad! You can't. You and Pepper have to come."

"But I'm almost to the end," Pepper protested.

"We're all going to the falls!" Laynie snapped. "Right now."

Pepper and Tony stopped dead, staring at their child.

Pepper closed her book. "O-Okay. If it means that much to you."

Laynie smiled sweetly. "It suuure does. Just let me talk to Wade and Carter for a minute!" She dragged her friends away by the arms, stopping behind the RV. "My Dad is going to propose to Pepper," she whispered harshly, "and he will never do it with you guys around."

Carter grinned. "It's about time! Don't worry, I'll keep Wade under control."

"Good."

Carter wished Laynie good luck as she dashed back to her family, already headed for the woodline.

"Hi! I'm back. Carter and Wade can't go."

"Oh, why not? I'm fine with it."

"No it's- it's Bruce! He won't let Carter go. And Wade... Is..."

"Irritating," Tony finished for her. "Come on, let's get this show on the road."

Pepper and Tony took the lead, clasping hands and seeing the sights as they walked aimlessly down the path. Laynie took up the rear, practically screaming inside. She was so excited for it to be final, to have no reason to hesitate to call Pepper her mother. She wanted her dad to be happy, of course, but he had no idea how much the proposal was going to effect his daughter.

After they had walked for what seemed like _forever_ , Laynie skipped up beside her father and intentionally elbowed him as she linked her arm through his.

"Have any idea where the falls are?" he asked.

"Nope. I could have walked circles around this place last night and not remember it today. I was tired, and it was dark."

"Fair enough," Tony sighed.

They walked on in silence. Pepper suggested that if Tony really wanted to see the falls, they turn back and enlist Steve's help. Tony turned red in frustration, straining to hear the sound of water. He insisted they keep looking. Laynie's hope thinned.

"Dad? Maybe we won't be able to find the falls. But that's okay, right?"

He hesitated, looking in between the two redheads with him.

" _Right_?"

"Right," he relented. With a gently trembling hand, he reached into his leather coat's pocket and withdrew a black box. He knelt in the dirt right there in the middle of the woods, and Pepper was completely stunned. Laynie barely contained a squeal and jumped a few steps back.

"Pepper, I know I'm not always the most... attentive, but I would love if you would be my wife." He gave her a watery smile, looking like he might throw up any second.

Pepper squealed and yanked him up to his feet to hug him.

"Oof- I'm guessing that's a yes?"

Pepper laughed and nodded on his shoulder, trying not to cry all over the place. Laynie, unable to contain herself any longer, ran and threw her arms around her parents.

After a few minutes of excited chattering, the family of three started to walk back to the campsite.

Laynie smiled back at her parents as they walked arm in arm, Pepper chattering excitedly about what the wedding will be like while Tony listened with a wide grin.

As they got closer to the campsite they heard panicked yelling.

"What's that?" Pepper wondered worriedly.

Laynie ran ahead of her parents and was shocked to see Peter's right arm on fire. "Oh my gosh, Peter!"

Natasha had already jumped into action, pulling at Peter's shirt to get it off. Finally managing to get the shirt off Natasha threw it on the ground and started to stamp out the flames.

Peter gripped at his arm with a grimace.

Everyone at once rushed to help Peter, who tried to laugh it off and insisted he was fine. Wade stood to the side awkwardly, apologizing from a distance.

Natasha frowned at Peter's bare chest, riddled with scars old and new. "Peter—"

Carter jumped in front of him, shoving her jacket across his chest and examining his arm. "Go to the RV," she ordered. "I'll have Wade get you a shirt and we'll get cold water on that."

He hesitated, stunned by the string of events.

"Go!" Carter hissed.

She pushed Peter toward the RV, while Wade ran to their tent to grab a shirt. Laynie quickly followed after Carter and Peter.

"What happened?" Laynie asked.

"Um, Wade may have gotten a little overzealous with the s'mores and the fire," Carter told her.

"That's an understatement," Peter added.

Carter pulled Peter to the sink. She turned the cold water on full and stuck his arm underneath the stream. Peter yelped and tried to pull his arm away, but Carter held firm.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"It's okay. I'm glad you weren't hurt."

"Yeah, you saved me from a fiery doom," she joked.

Laynie squinted, feeling as though there were a part of the story she had missed. Was Peter blushing?

"I'm going to see what's keeping Wade," Laynie said.

Laynie skipped down the few stairs on the RV and nearly ran into Wade, running at breakneck speed with a shirt in his fist.

"Whoa! Wade, chill." Laynie took the shirt and handed it off to Carter in the RV.

"You okay?"

Wade sighed and sat in the grass, leaning against the RV. "I can't believe I did that."

Laynie sat across from him. "Set Peter on fire? It was an accident, right?"

"Yeah, but... Natasha probably suspects something now. And Peter's hurt. Because of me."

"Because of an _accident_. You never answered me, are you okay?"

He let his head fall back, banging against the side of the RV. "Yeah." It sounded like a lie.

Steve went in the RV and came out a few moments later with Carter and Peter in tow. Peter's arm had been bandaged in the worst places, but the rest of it was left alone to heal. While Peter and Carter carried on past Laynie and Wade, Steve stopped and crouched in the grass parallel to them.

"What was that all about?"

"It was an accident," Laynie said.

"Laynie, I wasn't asking you. You weren't even _here._ Wade, what happened?"

"I was roasting a marshmallow and it was on fire so I was trying to put it out, and I accidentally swung it around and almost hit Carter. But Peter stopped me from hitting her and, y'know, fire."

"And Peter's scars? I don't mean to stick my nose where it doesn't belong but that looked serious."

Wade and Laynie made eye contact with each other, each panicking and trying to think of an excuse.

"I don't know," Wade said. "I've never seen them." At least that much of it wasn't a lie.

Steve set his jaw and narrowed his eyes at Wade for a moment, then gave one firm nod. "Alright then."

The rest of the day was comparatively calm. Peter sat well away from the fire while Wade sulked somewhere. Kate, Carter and Laynie spent a lot of time swapping stories on Clint and the like, while Pepper showed everyone her engagement ring at least twice.

Finally, when the sun set, Steve pulled his telescope out and dragged the teenagers over to look at the constellations.

"That up there is Ursa Major, and next to it is Ursa Minor," Steve said proudly.

Laynie squinted into the telescope, then up at Steve. "Where's the big dipper?"

"That _is_ the big dipper, numbskull," Carter called from beside the fire.

Laynie pouted at Carter before turning back to look in the telescope. "Aren't they supposed to be like bears or something?"

Steve nodded. "The four stars in a square are it's body and the long line of stars is it's tail."

"Wait, since when do bears have long tails?" Laynie questioned. "Wouldn't they be more like beavers then?"

"They're bears, Laynie." Steve sighed.

"But bears don't have long tails!"

"I didn't make up the name."

"No, that actually would be the work of Asgardians." Thor interrupted as he sauntered up to the small group of stargazers.

"Really?" Carter sat up on the blanket.

"Yes, bears on Asgard have long tails, unlike your earth bears." Thor answered with a smile.

"Well they still look more like spoons to me," Laynie grumbled.

"Nonsense!" Thor bellowed. He put his arm around Laynie's shoulders and pointed up at the sky, illustrating how the stars might look like the body of a bear. "And if you look this way, you'll see a chain of bright stars coiling around our bears." He traced the constellation with his finger.

Laynie squinted up at the sky. "Yeah, I don't see it."

"Ah, perhaps someday I'll take you closer. There is much more to see of the heavens than what you see here."

Steve sat by Carter on the blanket and gave Thor a long stare.

"Everything okay, Steve?" Carter asked.

"Everything is fine." Steve huffed.

"You sure?"

"Ooh!" Wade shouted, raising his hand.

"Yes Carter."

Carter looked at him sympathetically. "Steve, why don't you tell me more about the constellations?"

"I have something to say!" Wade cried, waving his hand around in the air. Peter elbowed him in the ribs, but he didn't even flinch.

"Okay," Steve said, a little placated. "Up there, we have—"

"Did Thor steal your thunder?" Wade burst out, unable to hold his joke any longer.

There was a moment of dead silence, and then Wade laughed so hard he rolled over on the blanket. Steve managed to hold his laughter until he made eye contact with Carter, and they both began laughing after that.

Steve was thrown out of this laughing fit when he saw Thor accidentally knock over the telescope. He quickly got up to help set it back up.

Carter eventually composed herself. She sighed and laid back on the blanket. Turning her head to the side slightly she came face to face with eight black eyes staring back at her.

She threw herself off the blanket and started to scream. "Peter, kill it!"

"What, what's going on?" Peter shouted.

"There's a giant spider on the blanket and it wants to eat me!"

Peter stood beside Carter, looking at the spider with traces of horror in his face. "You want me to _kill it_?"

"Yes I want you to kill it!" Carter shrieked. "It's _huge_!"

"I-I can't kill spiders!" Peter shouted, taking a step away as the spider advanced. "They're like my _cousins_ or something!"

Carter shrieked again when the spider moved. She jumped behind Peter and shoved him toward it, shouting, "Just kill it!"

Peter looked between the spider and Carter's terrified face behind him. The spider, so big and fuzzy, didn't seem so threatening to Peter. Except when it leaped at their feet.

Wade dove for the spider at the last second, smashing it into the blanket with his shoe. "I got it!" He lifted the shoe, looked at the mangled spider, and smashed it one last time to be sure.

Carter cheered Wade, even though his methods were rather gross. Peter stood, staring aghast at the flattened spider.

Laynie approached them and looked down at the spider. "Wow, that's a big spider."

"And it was right next to my face!" Carter cried and threw her arms around Laynie. "It wanted to eat me. I don't like camping. Why did we do this?"

Laynie patted her friend's shoulder. "There there little Carter. It'll be okay."

"Okay, that's enough excitement for one night," Steve said. With his telescope under one arm, he put his other arm around the shell-shocked Carter and guided her back to the heart of the camp.

Bruce was halfway to where they had been, concerned after hearing Carter shouting. "Is everything okay?"

Carter threw herself into his arms and cried, "It was horrible, Bruce! It tried to _eat me_!"

Bruce gave her a puzzled look, then redirected it to Steve.

"There was a spider," he explained. "Apparently very close to her. And very bloodthirsty."

"Back on Asgard," Thor began, "we have spiders the size of your motor vehicles! Young warriors such as yourselves capture and kill them for sport. They're too gamey to eat."

Carter let out a dramatic sob and burrowed even further into Bruce's coat. The father gave Thor a glare and pulled his daughter the rest of the way to camp.

"I can't believe he killed it," Peter mumbled.

"Oh, not you too," Laynie groaned. "There are lots of spiders in the woods. The world will survive with one less."

"He was so brave," Peter sighed.

"Oh my god."

Once Carter and Peter had gotten over their shock, everyone sat around the campfire to roast marshmallows and hot dogs. Kate told stories that Clint protested about, Tony half-told a story that became too inappropriate for the young ears around the campfire, and Steve finished it off with a ghost story he'd learned in his early days as Captain America.

"Alright, we should all be getting to bed," he announced at the end. "We're going hiking tomorrow!"

"Said who?" Natasha asked.

"Said me," he countered. "We came here to spend time with each other and that's exactly what we're going to do."

Goodnights were exchanged, and everyone turned in.


	24. Chapter 24

"Up and at 'em!"

"Agh!" Carter groaned when Steve opened the flap of their tent. "Go away!"

Kate chuckled, half-asleep. "Have fun you two."

"Um, excuse me. You're going too." Laynie sat up in her sleeping bag.

"We're leaving in ten minutes. Start moving." Steve ordered and left the tent.

Carter groaned again. "Why can't we hike later? We're going to be here for another like three days."

"C'mon, it'll be fun," Laynie grumbled. She was trying to convince herself more than anyone. "Nature and crap."

"Nature tried to kill me last night. Nature and I aren't on very good terms right now." Carter grabbed her duffle bag at her feet.

"Nature didn't try to kill you. And neither did that spider. Now Peter, he might wanna kill you."

"What's his deal with spiders anyway?" Kate asked.

"Um… well, long story." Carter said with a shrug.

Ten minutes later, the girls clambered out of the tent. Peter and Wade were doing the same thing across from the girls' tent.

"I should get to stay here," Peter moped. "I'm wounded."

"Nobody's staying here." Steve said firmly. "It'll be fun."

"No it won't." Carter replied in disgust.

"Yes it will!" Wade cried. "We might see more animals. And plants and stuff. It'll be fun."

"Oh no," Laynie groaned. "Wade, quit being a morning person."

"I can't help it!" He bounced up to stand beside Laynie, who slouched against him. He grabbed her by the arms and shook her a little. "I like mornings. And nights."

"You like everything."

"I don't like homework," he argued. "But yeah, you're mostly right."

After having argued for a good five minutes, Steve silenced everyone with a glare. "Okay, move out." He took the lead and guided them out into the forest.

"He hates us. Why else would he make us do this?" Carter whined.

"This is child abuse," Laynie claimed. "I'm going to file a report."

"Do it," Clint said from the back of the group. "I've been trying to get rid of you two since you showed up."

"Rude." Carter huffed.

Kate fell behind to harass Clint while Peter sped up to avoid Natasha, who seemed to be silently pressuring him to talk. Carter and Laynie stuck with Wade, who was doing what can only be described as frollicking.

As he skipped past trees and shrubs, he picked leaves and flowers and stuck them in the girls' hair. They stuck in Carter's the best, but Laynie brushed them out of her short hair every time he put them in. Eventually he gave up on Laynie and stuck things on Carter until she looked like a walking tree.

"Wade, don't eat that," Laynie called. Wade tossed the cluster of berries into a bush and went on, pouting a little. "I swear, he's like a three year old sometimes."

"Yep," Carter said. "But then again, so are we."

"Shhh."

Eventually the group stopped moving, and everyone clustered in around Steve, who was examining a snake lying in the path, sunbathing. He excitedly talked about how he could tell it wasn't poisonous, and other obscure snake facts only Steve would bother knowing.

Wade crouched down beside the snake and stared at it for a while. "Is it dead?"

"No. See its tongue? It's smelling us."

"Ew," Laynie commented. "We've been in the woods for three days."

Wade poked the side of the snake, and Steve slapped his hand away. "Leave it alone. Alright, let's move on!" Everyone else moved on while Wade lingered, looking down at the snake.

"Come on Wade," Peter called.

"I wanna poke it."

"Don't poke it. Let's go." Peter grabbed Wade's hand and dragged him along after the group. "Ugh, what's on your hands?"

"I dunno. Oil or something from the stuff I was picking."

Peter stopped dead in his tracks, staring at his hands. "What have you been picking?"

"The stuff in Carter's hair?"

Peter stopped himself just short of facepalming when he saw Carter's hair, full of leaves and flowers of poison oak. He walked up to Carter and started pulling the leaves and flowers out of her hair.

"What are you doing?" Carter questioned curiously.

"It's poison oak." He grimaced.

"What?!" Carter shouted. "Wade, you moron!" She started pulling at the plants tangled in her hair as well.

"Stop, stop! I already have it on my hands, don't touch it."

Laynie, who had also gotten the plants all over her hands, stopped to help Carter get all the greenery out of her hair. Wade stood by, wondering what poison oak was, but knowing it was bad.

"What's going on?" Bruce asked, having run back to where the teens had stopped.

"Wade poisoned me," Carter grumbled.

Bruce examined one of the leaves as Peter held it up for him. "Yeah, that's definitely poison oak. Come on, I'll take you all back to camp and show you how to get it off."

Bruce guided them to the RV, where he filled the sink with warm water and dish soap. "You have to wash it all out to get the oils off. That's what irritates your skin." He supervised while they all washed their hands up to their elbows, then drained the sink and washed Carter's hair. Laynie denied rinsing her's out, claiming it was probably fine.

They all sat around the newly lit campfire, and Carter tried to dry her hair some. Within two hours after the incident, the four began itching. Wade and Carter the most.

Carter glared at Wade from her seat across from him.

"I said I'm sorry," He mumbled.

"Sorry, doesn't make me stop itching." Carter deadpanned.

"How was I supposed to know what poison oak looks like? I still don't even know what it is!"

"Guys, chill. We're all itchy and cranky and yeah, it's Wade's fault, but whatever."

"Gee, thanks Laynie."

She only scratched her scalp in response.

The group came trudging back into the campsite a moment later, Steve still in the lead.

"Hey, why did you guys come back?" Steve asked, slight disappointment in his voice.

"There was an incident with some poison oak." Bruce explained simply.

"Oh, right. You four are so disaster prone." He sat down beside the fire, holding his hands up to warm them.

"You just expect this stuff now?" Laynie asked, puzzled.

"Somewhat. I mean, you have an extensive record of disaster."

Kate plopped down next to Carter. "So you must be having a fun time on this trip. First Peter gets barbecued, then a spider gets all up in your face and now poison oak."

Carter sent a glare Kate's way. "Thanks for clarifying that for me. As if I already didn't know."

Kate grinned widely.

Tony and Pepper had retreated to the RV after the hike, having had enough socialization for a while. Thor sat with the teens and told more stories of Asgard and the other eight realms, to distract them from itching.


	25. Chapter 25

The night was spent mostly awake for the four victims of poison oak. They scratched and scratched and just couldn't get comfortable. Eventually Bruce, woken by their constant movement, gave them all benadryl and they were able to catch a few solid hours of sleep.

That morning,Wade, Laynie, Carter, Peter and Kate were the first ones around the fire. Kate and Laynie built it up from the coals left over while Carter verbally bashed Wade some more.

There they spent most of the morning, generally looking depressed. Kate eventually went off with Clint to do some target practice, and Peter fell asleep in his camp chair.

"Guys, you've got to do something," Tony said, standing in front of the group. "You're making me depressed."

"We played go fish for two hours," Laynie sighed. "There's nothing else for us to do, really."

"Well what about the pool?"

They gave Tony their attention, obviously interested.

"Didn't you hear Steve going on about that? At the base of the falls, wherever they are, there's a pool. It's about five feet deep apparently. The water might be a little cold but it would help you stop itching so much."

Laynie shrugged, looking between Wade and Carter for feedback.

"Sure, why not?" Carter sighed. "If it'll make me not itch so much, I'm all for it."

"Sounds fine to me," Wade agreed. "Should we leave Peter here?"

"Probably. We'll let him sleep. Besides, he shouldn't really swim around unclean water with his arm all burnt."

"Great! I'll go get Steve, he can take you."

The three went to change while Tony found Steve, depositing him outside their tents. The hike to the falls was a short one that they mostly spent itching.

They had picked up Kate on the way to the falls, saving her from yet another argument with Clint about not provoking the mafia.

"Thanks guys." She said in relief.

"No problem." Carter answered, absently scratching at her neck.

Laynie swatted her hand. "Stop that, you'll just make it worse."

Carter stuck her tongue out at the other girl.

Once they got the falls in their sights the four teens took off running to dive into the pool of water.

"It's so cold!" Laynie cried, only ankle deep in the water.

"But it feels so good," Carter sighed while she floated on her back.

"It does make the itching not as bad," Wade agreed. "Come on, jump in!"

Laynie continued to refuse, sitting at the edge of the water. She left her feet in, but refused to go further. Finally, Kate enlisted Steve's help and they hauled her up and into the water.

She splashed and spluttered for a moment. She stopped complaining when her head and shoulders stopped itching.

After floating for a while, Carter started to get restless. She saw Steve nearby. With a mischievous grin, she swam toward him.

Steve laughed as Carter scrambled to attach herself to his wet back. "What're you doing?"

Carter ignored him. "Laynie, chicken fight!"

"No!" Laynie shook her head wildly. "You always beat me when we play that."

"Come on, it'll be fun." With some assistance, she made it onto Steve's shoulders.

"What's chicken fight?" Wade asked.

"Basically, you've got four people, and two of them get on the other two's shoulders and then the two people on top try to knock each other over. It's fun." Carter explained.

Wade nodded in understanding. He looked over toward Laynie who was still shaking her head in refusal. He slowly immersed himself under the water and swam over to her. Next thing Laynie knew, she was riding on top of Wade's shoulders.

"Wade, put me down, I'm not playing!" Her face was turning red, and it wasn't the cold causing it.

"Laynie, come on!" Carter whined.

Laynie gave Carter a completely deadpan look, not even a little swayed by her friend's argument.

"Come on, Laynie," Wade said excitedly, bouncing on his toes in the water. "Just once."

She looked down at his excited face, and over to Carter's. "Oh my gosh, fine."

"I don't think this is a good idea." Steve said apprehensively.

"You worry too much." Carter commented, "Now go that way." She pointed toward Wade and Laynie.

He sighed and started walking toward Wade and Laynie as Wade came toward them as well.

Carter grinned at Laynie. "Ready?"

"No," Laynie shook her head.

"Go!" Carter threw her arms out as Laynie did the same.

They both struggled to throw the other one into the water.

"Ow!" Wade cried, when Carter accidentally kicked him in the face.

Carter gasped. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Wade. Are you okay?"

Taking advantage of Carter's lack of focus, Laynie grabbed her shoulders and pushed her off of Steve into the water.

"Ah!" Carter cried loudly.

Laynie only got to enjoy her victory for a brief moment. After Carter had fallen, Wade intentionally launched Laynie into the water after her. Carter and Laynie both surfaced shouting at Wade, one in anger and the other in concern.

"Wait, guys," Wade said, holding his hands up. "What's that?"

Laynie looked on her leg where Wade pointed, and screamed.

Steve launched into action and grabbed Laynie, pulling her to the edge of the water and sitting her down on a flat rock. There were at least five leeches he could see on her legs at first glance. Carter, Wade and Kate followed close behind. While Steve worked to calm Laynie long enough to remove the leeches, Kate took initiative and popped two off of Carter, and one off of Wade.

"I used to do this for the other kids at summer camp," she explained to Carter.

"What _are_ they?" Wade asked, disgusted.

"Leeches. They won't kill you," Kate said pointedly, side-eyeing Laynie.

Steve popped the last of the leeches off of Laynie and sat on the rock beside her, pulling her into a big hug. She calmed down slowly, eventually muttering, "I hate leeches."

Back at camp, Tony took Laynie into the RV for a while to calm down, and everyone else sat by the fire to dry off.

"Poor Laynie," Kate muttered.

"She _never_ freaks out like that," Carter sighed.

Peter scratched at his wrist. "Wait, what happened? What did I miss?"

"There were leeches in the water at the falls. Laynie had like eight of them on her legs."

Peter grimaced. "And she freaked out?"

"A little."

"A lot," Wade corrected.

Laynie emerged from the RV with a blanket on her shoulders and her father trailing behind her.

"We're leaving," Tony announced. "Everyone is miserable and I'm willing to take anyone that's done."

Apparently everyone was done with the trip, because the camp was packed up in less than two hours.

As Laynie sat across the way from Wade, she considered all they had been through the last three days, and his proposal from a week back. Laynie was still a little weirded out by the idea of dating Wade. He was the best friend she'd had since Carter, but she wondered if that closeness was going to grow into something more even if she never gave it consent.

If the relationship were to grow and evolve toward romance, was it any use to put up a fight? Would it only damage their relationship further?

Laynie sighed and looked up at Wade again. He was scratching at his wrists, trying to cheer up Carter while she scratched at her neck. Before she could think about it for a second longer, Laynie pulled out her phone and texted Wade.

' _We need to talk_ '

His phone buzzed, and he kept messing with Carter until Laynie sent him another message, and finally kicked him in the shin.

He grabbed his buzzing phone out of his pocket, giving Laynie a comical glare all the while.

' _Wuts up_ '

' _Your severe lack of respect for the English language. You need help._ '

' _Anyway, I was just gonna say... If you're still up for the whole going to the formal as a date thing... I'm okay with it._ '

' _I mean, more than okay. I'd love to actually. I've been thinking about it and basically YOLO right?_ '

Laynie tried not to make eye contact with Wade, scrolling through her unread emails while she waited for his response.

 _'No_ '

Laynie blinked hard at the message, confused. She dared to look up at him, and saw he wore a scowl much similar to her own.

' _What? "No" what?_ '

' _Laynie i would still love to but i dont know if its a good idea y'know_ '

' _No I don't know_.'

Wade's next message took a long time to arrive, and Laynie spent the whole time watching him scowl at his phone while he typed it out. What had changed over the course of a week? Had she done something? Was Wade too hurt over her first rejection to accept that she'd changed her mind?

' _i cant explain it to u_ '

' _Bull! You can tell me anything_.'

' _Not over a txt ok? Theres alot of reasons and i dont REALLY wanna talk about any of it_ '

Laynie stared out the window for a while, watching blankly as the fiery autumn trees blended into a streak of orange flying past the RV. Finally, she typed out a message and sent it.

' _Fine._ '

' _Im sorry Laynie_ '

' _Laynie?'_

' _Laynie pls dont be angry at me_ '

Laynie turned off her phone, then pulled her blanket over her shoulders and tried to get comfortable for the long ride home. Two hours after later, the group checked into a hotel. They would stay there for the remaining two days of their vacation, and drive home just in time for Thanksgiving.


	26. Chapter 26

Thanksgiving dinner consisted of Laynie, Carter, Steve, Bruce, Natasha, Pepper, and Tony. Clint had somewhere to be, and Thor had gone with Jane for dinner with her family. It was loud and unorthodox, as anything is with the Avengers, but enjoyable

After having dinner, the girls retreated to their shared apartment with a couple of pieces of pumpkin pie.

Laynie plopped down on Carter's bed as Carter grabbed one of her many, photo albums. "Which one is that?"

"It's from back when we were little, when Coulson would watch us at SHIELD HQ." Carter replied, sitting next to her on the bed.

"Ah, I love that one." Laynie grinned.

Carter opened it to the first page and they were met by the smiling faces of their parents and them in front of SHIELD HQ. When Carter was younger, she developed a love of photography. Her parents would buy her disposable cameras while they were away, telling her to fill the camera with all the fun things she'd do while they were gone.

It quickly got out of control, with little Carter filling two or three disposable cameras within a one-week period. Her parents kept the best of them, while others were discreetly thrown away. When she was ten, her mom was injured and had to stay home for a while. During that time, Carter discovered a love for scrap-booking. It was one of Carter's fondest memories; uninterrupted scrap-booking with her mom for an entire week.

Carter scraped her pie plate clean while they flipped through an album from the last Christmas they'd spent with their parents.

"The holidays are hard," Laynie said softly. "I miss mom."

"I know. The holidays were some of the best times that I had with my parents." Carter chuckled, "Dad always insisted on dressing up like Santa Claus every year until the very end."

Laynie laughed. "I remember that. He was such a great dad. He always treated me like I was his kid."

"It made me so jealous when I was little," Carter said with a smile. She traced the outline of her dad's face in a photo. "But I'm glad he did it now."

Laynie sighed heavily and rubbed at her tear-filled eyes. "The real world sucks."

"Yep!" Carter shut the scrapbook and placed it on the shelf. "So what's going on with you? You've been all mopey ever since camping."

"I have not."

Carter raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, I've been a little mopey. It's just... Well I miss my mom, obviously."

"But?"

"Wade and I kinda fought a little. I don't know, it wasn't really a fight. He's just being weird."

"To be fair, Wade is always a little weird." Carter pointed out. "What did you guys fight about?"

"Well... Swear not to laugh?"

"I'll try not to, but no promises." Carter shrugged.

"He asked me to the formal. And I said no. And then I said yes. And he said no."

Carter ran a hand through her hair. "Well, you did say no first. Maybe he's going with someone else?"

She scoffed. "We're the only people Wade knows. Besides, he wouldn't be able to keep his mouth shut if he were. He was just _weird_ about it. All dodgy and not answering my questions. He said there were a lot of reasons."

"I don't really know what to tell you, if he doesn't want to talk about it then you can't make him."

"No, but I wish he would," Laynie grumbled. "You know what? I'm going to go talk to him tomorrow. He said he didn't want to talk about it in a text message, maybe he'll be okay talking about it face to face."

"It's worth a shot." Carter smiled hopefully. "I hope he'll tell you."

* * *

Laynie took in a deep breath, raising her hand to knock on the door. Chewing on her lip, she put on her brave face and knocked.

Peter answered the door, looking puzzled. "Hey Laynie. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah! I just- uh, I wanted to talk to Wade."

"Oh yeah, yeah sure. Come in."

Laynie walked in and stood in the doorway rather awkwardly. Peter went to the bottom of the stairs and shouted for Wade, who came thundering down them a second later.

"Aunt May's at work," Peter said, halfway up the stairs. "Try not to break anything."

Laynie laughed nervously.

"Hey, what's up?"

They sat on the couch. Laynie brushed her bangs away from her forehead and pulled her feet up to sit cross-legged on the couch. "I came to talk about what happened the other day. We haven't really talked since and... I don't want to ruin our friendship."

"It's not— you didn't. It was a dumb idea."

Laynie scoffed. "What? Us dating? That's dumb?"

"Yes! I mean, no! It's not dumb that we could date, it's dumb that I thought that I could handle that."

Laynie's eyebrows furrowed together. "You can't handle dating?"

"No."

"Tell me why."

He stared at her, lost for words. "I- I can't. I have a lot of secrets and none of them are good."

"Then get them out in the open now. Please Wade, I want to make it work."

He sighed. "Peter's sitting at the top of the stairs listening."

Laynie looked toward the stairs. "How do you know?"

"I can hear him. He sometimes forgets I'm superhuman too!" He pointedly shouted the last bit, and they heard Peter scamper away from the stairs. "Laynie, I can't talk about this. I just can't."

Laynie sat back and sighed, staring hard at the floor.

"I don't want to mess up our friendship."

"Well you already have!" Laynie cried, throwing up her hands.

"Hey, you're the one that brought it up again! I was perfectly content to leave it alone!"

"But why? That's all I'm asking! What's changed since you first asked me? Were you ever serious about it in the first place?"

"Of course I was serious! I'm just— I'm serious about _this_ too. It is not a good idea for us to date."

"Then tell me why."

Wade stopped, staring at her with his jaw set. When he opened his mouth to speak, Laynie cut him off.

"Don't you dare say you can't. I've always been open with you, you know you can trust me."

"Laynie, just drop it!" Wade shouted. "I don't want to talk about it!"

Laynie nodded slowly. "Okay, fine. I'll see you at school." She brushed past him, grabbed her bag at the door, and slammed it firmly behind her.

Peter slowly came down the stairs, peeking around the corner and seeing Wade standing in the middle of the room, watching out the window as Laynie stormed off.

"Dude, you okay?"

"Yeah."

"You... wanna talk to me about it?"

"No." Wade went upstairs to his room, leaving a very confused Peter standing in the foyer.


	27. Chapter 27

"Thanks for helping me get ready, Natasha. I really appreciate it." Carter smiled brightly.

Natasha smiled back. "No problem." She zipped up the back of the long, silver dress Carter was wearing. "This dress looks beautiful on you. You did a good job picking it out."

Blushing slightly, Carter thanked her.

"Sit down so I can curl your hair." The older woman ordered.

Carter sat down obediently at her desk.

"So, are you excited?" Natasha asked as she pulled at sections of Carter's hair.

"Yeah, I'm mostly excited to see James though, I know it's only been a week, but it feels like forever." Carter played with the cow he had won her a few weeks back.

Natasha smiled gently. "I'm sure he'll be happy to see you too."

It took a hour or so, but Natasha eventually curled Carter's hair into long ringlets that framed her face.

"Thank you so much," Carter stood and hugged her.

Natasha returned the hug. "You're welcome. I was happy to help. You look wonderful."

"Carter! We're leaving!" Laynie called from outside her room.

"Okay, coming!" Carter grabbed her heels and her phone. "Thanks again, Natasha."

She nodded, "You better get moving, you don't want to be late for the formal."

Carter came out of her room to see Laynie sitting on the couch, looking as grumpy as a person could in a formal gown.

"You look really nice," she said. "James is a lucky guy."

"Thank you, you look nice too. We're supposed to meet the guys there, right?"

"Yeah." Laynie held up her phone so that Carter could see the screen. "I just got a text from Peter, he's not sure Wade's coming."

Carter sighed, "This…" She paused, choosing her next words carefully, "This doesn't have anything to do with what happened last night does it?"

" kind of... shouted. A lot. I might have slammed the front door."

"Well, I hope he comes anyway. And even if he doesn't I'm sure we'll still have fun." Carter said optimistically.

Laynie sighed, then smiled. "You're right. Let's go!"

Bruce was dropping them off that night at the formal.

"Thanks Bruce." Carter grinned.

Laynie nodded, "Yeah, thanks."

"No problem. Do I need to pick you up later?" He asked.

"Um, maybe. We'll call you if we need you to pick us up." Carter answered.

"Okay. Have fun and be safe, guys!" Bruce pulled away from the curb as they said their goodbyes.

As they made for the door, Peter waved to them and met them before going inside. Gwen followed along beside him, wearing a long blue dress.

"Hey guys," Peter said with a grin. "You look great."

"Thanks," Laynie said with a smile. "You don't look half bad yourself. You seen James around?"

"I saw him and tried to grab him to wait with us, but I don't think he saw me."

"Well at least we know he's here," Carter said. "And Wade?"

Peter shrugged. "I didn't see him before I left. He might come, he might not." He gave Laynie a cautious look before continuing. "He's been acting weird."

"Well, I'm sure he'll talk to us when he's ready." Carter said reassuringly.

"I suppose you're right." Peter nodded. "Come on, let's not worry about that right now. We're supposed to be having fun."

"Yeah!" Carter linked arms with Laynie and dragged her along with her. "Now to find James."

Peter and Gwen went ahead onto the dance floor while Carter and Laynie searched for James.

"I wonder where he could be." Carter looked around curiously. "Maybe I should text him," she said, pulling out her phone.

"I don't think he'd hear his phone over the music," Laynie said, holding a hand over the ear closest to a speaker. "This is ridiculous."

Carter frowned, standing on her toes to search the crowd for her boyfriend. "Got that right. He should have waited by the door."

Laynie opened her mouth to make a sarcastic comment, and a startled shout came out when someone grabbed her shoulder.

"Hey! It's just me."

Laynie turned, and Wade was standing behind her. His suit jacket was on crooked, his tie wasn't tied, and he had missed a button on his shirt, but he was there.

"Oh my gosh! Wade!"

Carter turned, grinned, and wandered off into the crowd to find her boyfriend.

"Can we go somewhere quieter?"

"I can't hear you!"

Wade laughed, grabbing Laynie's hand and leading her to a quieter place. "I'm sorry I yelled at you yesterday."

"To be fair, I yelled first."

"Yeah, you did." They sat on a bench near the exit, where fresh air was pouring in, and the music was the farthest away.

"I'm sorry too."

They sat in silence for a while, watching the crowd move around.

"What do we do now?" Laynie asked.

Wade sucked in a breath. "Well, we could always forget the whole thing and move on with our lives."

Laynie gave him a deadpan look. "Yeah right. I think it's physically impossible for me to drop stuff like this."

He laughed. "Yeah, that's true. So, we should make out?"

Laynie looked up at him, startled. "Wait, what?"

"Can I kiss you?"

She blinked rapidly, trying to calm her nerves and sort out her thoughts. Kissing. Wade. The two words just didn't go together in her head.

"I was just thinking about it, and… YOLO, right?"

Laynie grinned. "Yeah, YOLO."

Wade leaned down while Laynie leaned up, and their noses smashed together. Wade snickered almost uncontrollably until Laynie finally managed to get their lips together.

Wade grabbed both of Laynie's hands and pulled her off the bench. "Come on, you promised you would dance with me!"

They pushed their way through the crowd to the dancefloor. Just as they broke through the ring of spectators to the dancefloor, Wade stopped.

"Wade? What's wrong? Wade!"

He looked down to Laynie and quickly back to what he had been staring at. Laynie looked around him, eyes landing on James. "Oh! Carter found him."

"That's not Carter."

Laynie's heart fell to the floor. James was making out with a girl in a silver dress, but it sure wasn't Carter. "Oh no."

Wade pulled his hand out of Laynie's and made for the two. Laynie ran after him.

"Wade, stop! Don't do anything stupid!"

Wade reached out and grabbed James by the collar, yanking him away from his second date. "What do you think you're doing?" he shouted. Surrounding dancers stopped and stepped back

"Get off of me!" James yanked himself out of Wade's grip. "What's your problem?"

"What's _my_ problem? My problem is that you're with a girl that isn't your girlfriend. Or did you forget you had a girlfriend?" Wade yelled angrily.

"Wade, Laynie!"

Laynie turned to see Carter breaking through the crowd of spectators.

"What's going on?" Carter asked looked worriedly between Wade and James.

"Carter, it's not-" James started.

"This jerk was making out with another girl." Wade cut in. "That's what's going on."

Carter turned from Wade to James reluctantly. "Is that true, James?"

James sighed, "Carter, just listen-"

Carter could feel the tears welling up in her eyes, she shook her head, "I can't believe you." She said, before running off out of the room.

James quickly ran after her, with Laynie and Wade hot on his heels.

"Carter, wait!" James took hold of her upper arm.

"Who was that?" Carter whipped around angrily. "Who was she?"

"It was, she's just a friend, that's all." James stuttered.

"If she's 'just a friend' then why were you kissing her?" Carter's lips quivered. "I thought you liked me." There were tears spilling over her cheeks.

"I did!" James sighed and looked down at his feet. "I just don't anymore…"

Carter eyes narrowed. "You don't like me _anymore_. And what's changed between when we started dating and now? Tell me that."

"You're always hanging out with those freaks you call friends. You say we're dating, but sometimes it seems like not only am I dating you, but also all you're stupid friends." He said with a sneer.

Carter's hands curled up into fists as she heard this. "You're such a jerk. How did I not see it?" She shook her head angrily. Losing control of her emotions, one of her fists launched out and struck James in the face knocking him into the wall behind him.

He rubbed his cheek in shock. Narrowing his eyes, he launched himself at Carter.

Carter held up her arms over her face. She waited for James to strike her, but it never came. She opened her eyes and let down her arms and saw Wade had tackled James to the ground.

"Who do you think you are?!" Wade shouted, enraged.

James got up to his feet slowly, ripping his jacket off and putting his fists up.

"Oh, you wanna fight me? Go ahead! Hit me!"

James launched himself forward to throw the sloppiest punch Wade had ever seen. He caught James's fist and landed an uppercut in his stomach.

"Wade stop!" Carter shouted. "He's not worth it!"

Peter and Gwen shoved through the crowd and Peter grabbed Carter, pulling her out of the line of fire. "Stop, he's not going to listen. I don't want you to get hurt." Peter held her firmly around the waist with one arm while she watched Wade and James fight with tears running down her face.

James threw a knee at Wade, but it didn't slow him down. Wade threw a punch at his face, grazing the other teen's cheek. James managed to dodge the next punch, but not the ones after. Wade relentlessly went after him, hitting him over and over again.

Laynie had finally had enough, and ran to stop them. She grabbed Wade's fist as it came down on James's bleeding face again. "That's enough!" she cried. "Wade, that's enough. This isn't you."

Wade stared at her for a moment, breathing heavily. Laynie stared right back, and felt like she was staring at a wild animal. She recalled Wade's words from the previous night, how he sometimes just didn't feel like himself. In that moment, he certainly wasn't acting like himself. Wade wasn't heartless.

Wade threw Laynie off his arm. She hit the dance floor hard, hitting her head on the floor and staying there, stunned.

Peter pushed Carter into the crowd behind him and tackled Wade, sending them both rolling into the crowd. But Wade was done. His rage was gone, and all he could do was stare at Laynie in horror.

Carter sat beside Laynie, helping her sit up slowly. Laynie touched the back of her head where she'd hit, and rubbed an angry tear off her cheek. Her hand left a red trail on her face.

"Oh my god," Carter mumbled. She looked at the back of Laynie's head and saw a thin trail of blood down her neck. "Gwen, call an ambulance!"

Laynie put her face in her hands and stayed there, purposefully not looking at Wade, held back by Peter from going to her.

Half an hour later, Wade was in the back of a police car while Laynie and Carter were in the back of an ambulance. James had been taken by another one, thankfully. After calling Bruce and explaining the situation as well as she could, Carter put her phone in her lap and tried to avoid eye contact with Laynie.

Laynie was holding a towel-wrapped ice pack on the back of her head, which was still bleeding a little. "Sorry."

"Why are you sorry? None of that was your fault." Carter looked up confused. " _I'm_ sorry you got hurt."

"Yeah, I'm not the only one. I'm sorry James is…. whatever he is. And not what you thought he was."

Carter sighed, "At least I found out now, rather than later."

Carter was told to wait in the waiting room while Laynie had her head looked at. While she was waiting, Bruce and Tony burst in. Carter went to Bruce and he hugged her silently for a full minute before Tony interrupted.

"Where's Laynie?"

"There's a doctor looking at her head and making sure she doesn't have a concussion or need stitches or anything."

Tony sighed and sat down. "Okay, tell me what happened."

Carter took a deep breath, feeling tears coming to her eyes before she even began. "Wade and Laynie were dancing, I guess, and they caught James" she took a moment to make sure her voice wouldn't break. "James was with another girl. Making out, I guess. We argued and I hit him and I thought he was going to hit me, but Wade stopped him. And then he- he lost it, he wailed on him. Laynie tried to stop him, and he was just out of his head and he threw her off. She hit her head, and now we're here." She deflated, leaning into Bruce. He wrapped his arms around her and said nothing as she soaked his shirt with tears.

Tony clenched and unclenched his fists, trying to control the urge to bust out an armor for a couple of teenage boys. "If Laynie's not okay, I will personally see to-"

"Dad?"

Tony jumped to his feet as Laynie came through the doors with a nurse trailing behind her. "Laynie! Are you okay?" He hugged her gently, then held her at arm's length to look her over. Her gown was wrinkled and smeared with blood in places. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and her face was totally devoid of any emotion. He'd only seen that look on her one other time in her life, when he'd found her in the police station in New Mexico.

"I'm okay. No stitches, no concussion." She wrapped her arms around him again.

The nurse behind her smiled grimly. "We didn't see any signs of a concussion, but you should keep an eye on her just in case."

"Thanks," Tony said absently, distracted by the girl in his arms. He guided her to a chair and sat her down, crouching in front of her. "Are you okay?"

"You already asked me that," she said with a hint of a smile. "I'm okay. Just... worn out, I guess. I want to go home."

"I can make that happen. C'mon."

After having returned from the hospital, Laynie was quickly whisked away by Pepper, followed closely by Tony.

Carter made a beeline for the elevator to get to her apartment.

"Carter," Bruce called.

But she was gone before he could talk to her.

The elevator doors slid open and Carter ran to her bedroom. She threw off her heels angrily, satisfied with the resounding thud they made. Quickly, she unzipped the dress and threw it on the bed. She grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a baggy shirt.

Standing in the middle of the room, she froze for a moment before she caught sight of her dress and got angry all over again. She snatched it off the bed and started to viciously rip the fabric apart.

Her anger dissipated as she broke down into tears leaving the ruined dress on the floor. She fell on the floor next to her bed and sobbed.

"Carter," she heard a voice say incredulously.

She looked up and saw Bruce standing at the door, looking concerned.

"Go away," she spat bitterly.

"Car-"

"Leave me alone!" She shouted.

She was surprised when he stepped inside and knelt on the floor next to her. He pulled her close to himself.

Shaking out of her stupor, she started to fight against his grip. "Let go of me!"

"Carter, stop," he said calmly. "Just stop."

"I said, leave me alone!" She shouted again, fighting viciously.

But he didn't let go.

She fought against for a while longer before she grew tired and fell against his chest and cried even harder than before. "It's not fair," she choked out.

"I know. I know it's not fair." Bruce sighed. "It's not fair at all. You never deserved that. _Never_."

"It's not fair." She said again.

"I know." Bruce pulled her closer, struggling to contain his anger.

Carter's cries eventually went from sobbing to sniffling.

"Bruce?" She said quietly.

He squeezed her tighter. "Yeah?"

"What did I do to make him not like me anymore? Is there something wrong with me?"

Bruce had never heard Carter more broken.

He took in a deep breath. "I need you to listen to me, okay?"

She nodded gently in response.

"I can't imagine why James could have possibly stopped liking you. But what I can tell you, is that it wasn't something you did wrong." He pulled her face up to meet his. "And it certainly wasn't because there was something wrong with you. There's nothing wrong with you."

"When he didn't get a response he continued. "You're beautiful and kind and smart and you deserve so much better." He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I'm so sorry, that you were hurt."


	28. Chapter 28

The morning after their wild night (or thirty minutes) at the formal, the Avengers and their daughters received a summons from Fury, calling a short-notice meeting to a SHIELD facility downtown.

Bruce stood outside the door of the girls' apartment, where they were still in their pajamas, watching cartoons on the couch.

"I don't want to go," they both called.

"Guys, come on. Fury said he wanted to talk to you guys. It's about Wade I guess."

Laynie looked toward the door, reconsidering her answer. "Carter, will you go with me?"

Carter pulled a blanket tighter around her body. "I don't know, Laynie. I just… I don't think I can handle seeing Wade right now. I appreciate what he did for me last night, but it doesn't change the fact that he hurt you and put James in the ICU."

"He didn't mean to hurt me. And I don't think he meant to hurt James either."

"Maybe he didn't mean to hurt either of you, but I just want to stay home, okay? I'm sorry." Carter sighed.

Laynie nodded. "Okay. Whatever." She left to get dressed.

Bruce knocked again. "Hello?"

Carter laughed gently. "Sorry, Bruce."

He opened the door and stepped inside. "So, are you going?"

"I don't think so." She shook her head. "Last night was pretty crazy, I'd rather just stay here."

Bruce gave her a small smile, "Alright, I won't make you go if you don't want to." Hesitating for a moment, he sat down next to on the couch. "Are you okay? You know, after last night?"

She shrugged. "Not really, but I'm sure I'll feel better soon." She fiddled with the blanket around her shoulders.

He sighed sympathetically, "Would you like me to stay here with you? I don't really need to go to that meeting."

Staring down at the hands in her lap, she nodded slowly. "I'd like that."

Bruce nodded, and told JARVIS to tell Tony that he was going to be staying with Carter while they went ahead to the meeting.

"Of course, Mr. Banner," the AI answered.

Bruce got off the couch and wandered into the kitchen wordlessly. "Cake batter, right?"

* * *

With Bruce at home with Carter, Thor off with Jane's family for Thanksgiving and Clint who knows where, Tony, Steve and Natasha were the only remaining Avengers to meet with Fury. When they filed into the meeting room, it was empty. They had to wait a silent, uneasy few minutes before Fury appeared with Wade in tow.

Laynie ducked her head, avoiding eye contact with her friend. What she saw out of the corner of her eye didn't look like him at all.

Instead of standing at the head of the table like he normally did, Fury sat with an exhausted sigh. Wade stood behind him. "Alright. I'll jump right into it. For some time now, Wilson has been experiencing strange, sometimes violent behaviors. Last month, he was diagnosed with a multiple personality disorder and a slew of other things. His mental state has continued to deteriorate rapidly."

Laynie stared at her lap, resisting the overwhelming urge to jump out of her chair and run until she was safe in her home.

"After losing control yesterday, we've decided that for his own safety and the safety of others, he will remain in SHIELD custody to finish his education. He will be staying in our top-notch mental institution until he can control his condition."

"I just wanted to say thank you," Wade said, almost too quiet to hear. "You guys did a lot for me."

Once they finished, a tense silence fell over the room.

"I have one question," Tony said slowly. "Why did you allow _him_ to hang around my _daughter_ like this?"

"Tony-"

"No no, I think that's a valid question." Tony leaned forward in his seat. "He _hurt_ her! That kid he beat up was in the ICU overnight because they were concerned about internal bleeding in his brain!"

Fury stood and shouted over Tony, "That is enough, Stark! If I locked up every superhuman on paranoid hunches, none of you would be here today. You know why? Because Loki and his freaky alien army would have conquered the globe!"

Laynie flinched as the two men shouted at each other. When her dad opened his mouth again, she reached over and grabbed his arm. He stopped as suddenly as he'd started, grumpily sitting back in his seat.

"I want to talk to Wade. Alone, please."

Tony slouched down to get a good look at his daughter's face. "Laynie, this is the same guy that threw you across the auditorium last night."

Laynie gave her dad a completely confused look. "You're wrong. That's my friend. He has a _mental illness_ , Dad."

Tony frowned, looking away from her before nodding. "Right. Okay. Well let me know if you need stitches this time."

"We both know you wouldn't leave me if you really thought I was in danger," she mumbled.

Fury stood and guided the two teenagers to the next room over. He closed the door behind them, promising he'd be right outside if there were an emergency.

Laynie sat on the long conference table while Wade stood somewhere behind her. She still didn't want to make eye contact, for fear of seeing what she'd seen the night before instead of her friend.

"I'm not mad at you."

Wade let out a sigh of relief, coming to sit near Laynie on the table. "I'm really sorry, Laynie. I... I honestly don't remember what happened. Peter told me though."

"Peter... did you already tell him?"

"Yeah. Last night. He's... upset."

"Are we ever going to see you again? Really?"

He looked away. "I don't know. Fury makes it sound like I'm going to be rehabilitated and leave. But it's only been getting worse. I guess I knew this was coming."

"But you couldn't tell me."

"I... Laynie, I didn't know what to say."

"Well I would have listened to you babble all day long trying to figure it out. I just wish you had told me."

"I'm really sorry. It's just, it's been hard. And I was worried about how you would react, whether or not you would still want to be friends with me?" Wade sighed.

"Wade, I can't hold it against you. What, am I gonna be mad about how your brain functions? The only thing I'm mad about is that you didn't tell me sooner. That I won't ever get to see you again."

"You're right I should have told you." Wade gave Laynie a smile, "Well, even if I don't ever see you again, I was really happy I met you."

Laynie was the one that looked away this time, trying to blink tears out of her eyes. She would cry later, at home. For now, she had to say goodbye to her best friend. She had to hold it together for just a little while.

Jumping down from the table, Laynie stood in front of him and held out her hand. Wade slid off the table and pushed her hand aside, pulling her into a hug.

And Laynie couldn't hold it in anymore. One sob broke loose, and she didn't stop for a while.

"We'll find a way to see each other again. I swear, no matter what I have to do, I will see you again. Okay?"

Laynie nodded, breaking away from the hug to avoid getting any more tears on Wade's red shirt. "Get better, okay?"

"I'll try. Keep an eye on Peter for me."

"I promise."


	29. Chapter 29

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Bruce asked as they pulled into the hospital parking lot.

While Laynie went to the meeting with Fury, Carter had decided to visit James on a whim.

"Yeah," Carter nodded. She held a small bouquet of flowers in her hands. "I may be upset with what he did, but I still want to make sure he's alright."

Bruce nodded, "Okay, if that's what you want."

They both exited the car and made their way to hospital entrance.

A few minutes later they had ended up on James' floor and right outside his door.

"You ready?"

"Uh, I think so." Carter smile had faltered.

Bruce wrapped an arm around her shoulders, placing a kiss on top of her head. "It'll be fine."

Taking a moment to compose herself, she knocked on the door.

She wasn't expecting James' father to open the door, though when she thought about it later, it wasn't so surprising. Their son was in the hospital after all.

"Carter, it's so good to see you. And you too, Dr. Banner." Mr. King greeted her and Bruce. There were dark circles underneath his eyes. You could tell he hadn't slept in while. He stepped aside, "Please you're welcome to come in. Though, James is asleep."

Carter entered with Bruce close behind her. "Oh well, I just wanted to bring him these," She said, holding up the flowers. "And to see how he was doing…"

"He's holding up." Mrs. King cut in from her seat at her son's side. She took the flowers from Carter with a little smile.

Carter stood at the foot of the bed, and she couldn't help but feel bad for James. She knew she should be angry at him, maybe even feel like he deserved it, but she couldn't. Not after watching Wade do what he had done.

"I'm really, _really_ sorry about what happened, Mrs. King. I didn't mean for this to happen."

Mrs. King pulled her into a hug. "It's alright. We don't blame you for what happened."

Mr. King spoke up. "James told us what happened at the formal yesterday. From what he told us, it wasn't just your friend's fault."

"We'd also like to apologize for what James did to you." Mrs. King sighed, "We had no idea. Once he's on his feet again, he's in for a world of trouble."

"The way he treated you was completely unacceptable. I hope you can forgive him, and us."

Carter shook her head. "It wasn't your fault. And… I'm sure I'll forgive him eventually."

They settled into an uncomfortable silence.

"Well, I think we probably should go." Carter said. "I hope he feels better soon."

Mrs. King smiled, "Thank you, Carter." She pulled her into one more hug before letting her go.

With all said and done, Carter and Bruce took their leave.

They were on their way back to the tower when Bruce said, "It's a shame that James wasn't anything like his parents. They would have been nice in-laws."

"Bruce!" Carter laughed guiltily. "That's not funny."

Bruce scoffed. "Then why are you laughing?"

"He's in the hospital!"

"Am I supposed to feel bad for him?"

"Bruce! What kind of father are you?"

"One that's concerned about his daughter, obviously!" He laughed.

"I have a feeling you don't fully grasp the situation. He's in the _hospital!_ "

Bruce burst into laughter, leaning against the steering wheel. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. You're right. I just wish Wade had left me a piece of him."

" _BRUCE!"_

After a few minutes, Bruce had managed to compose himself. "Sorry, I'm okay now."

Carter had her arms crossed against her chest, just shaking her head. "You hypocrite."

Bruce put a hand on Carter's arm, smiling gently. "But really Carter, you deserve so much better. You're a smart girl. I want to see you happy."

Carter smiled back gently. "Thanks." She said quietly.

"Alright." Bruce turned the key in the ignition. "Should we stop by the store before we head home? You're out of ice cream."

"I'm gonna need it."

By the time Bruce and Carter has made their ice cream run, Laynie had returned home. She was in her pajamas again, sitting on the couch. Her cell phone was in her lap, but she was staring out the window instead.

Carter came to stand next to Laynie. "Hey, are you okay?"

Laynie nodded. "I wish you had been there. We're probably not seeing Wade for a really long time."

"I'm sorry, Laynie." Carter sat down next to her. "What happened?"

"Wade apparently has a multiple personality disorder. And other things. He's been hiding it from us because he knew it would come down to this, I guess. It's probably why he changed his mind about going to the formal with me."

"Okay, wait. Come down to what?"

"Fury had him locked up in a mental hospital."

"That's terrible. Poor Wade."

"Yeah. And Peter," she gestured toward her phone, where she'd been texting Peter. "is a mess. I wouldn't be surprised if he's not at school tomorrow."

Carter frowned. "And here I am upset over a stupid boy."

Laynie shrugged and sniffled. "You have a right to be upset too. Is he out of the ICU?"

"Uh, yeah. I actually went to see him today. His parents said he was doing better." Carter answered.

Laynie turned to her friend, frowning. "You... Went to see James? While I was gone?"

"Yes, is there something wrong with that?" Carter asked, shooting her a glare.

"Well no, if you really wanted to see your lying, cheating boyfriend instead of the best friend we've spent the last few months with."

"I'm sorry, did you forget that Wade beat him so badly that he ended up in the ICU? Is it so wrong that I wanted to see if he was okay?"

"No, I just can't understand why you would _ever_ want to see him again! Especially over Wade. You know James is bad for you, right?"

"I think I'm old enough to decide what's good and bad for me! And it's not like I was going to get back together with him, I just wanted to see that he was alright!"

"You could have just called the hospital! I just don't understand _why_."

"Why what?"

Both red-faced girls turned to Tony and Bruce, who were standing in the doorway with two pizza boxes.

"We brought pizza and cheese sticks. Proven to fight depression. Wait, are you guys fighting?"

Bruce sighed. "Yeah Tony, they're fighting." He set his pizza box down on the coffee table and pointedly sat in between the girls. "What's going on?"

Tony sat down in an armchair across from them. "Fess up. Nobody gets pizza until this is cleared up." There was a continued silence. "Seriously, don't make me have JARVIS replay the whole thing."

"You can take your pizza and shove it," Carter said, standing up to leave.

Bruce grabbed her by the arm. "No. You sit down."

His tone of voice was more terrifying than Carter had ever heard out of the man. She sat back down.

"Tell me what happened right now," Bruce said.

"We argued! It's none of your business."

Bruce took a deep breath. "You're halfway to being grounded again. Someone explain to me what happened. _Right now._ "

Carter eyes widened at the tone of his voice.

"Well?" Bruce asked expectantly.

She took a deep breath. "Laynie had asked about James and I told her that we went to see him while they were gone and she got all mad at me for it when I didn't do anything wrong." She huffed and sat back in the couch.

Bruce turned to Laynie.

"I just asked where she'd gone and she got all defensive! I just wish she wasn't angry at Wade for something that wasn't _really_ his fault and that she had gotten to see him."

"Yes, I'm a little angry at Wade, but I know it wasn't all his fault. And I didn't know that we weren't going to see him again for a while. If I had known I probably would have gone to see him." Carter said with a frown.

"See? That wasn't so hard guys. Now, do we have something to say to each other?"

Laynie barely resisted rolling her eyes at Bruce. Silence followed Bruce's words.

"Well?"

"I'm not sorry," Laynie said firmly.

"Well then, neither am I." Carter replied flippantly.

"Holy crap," Tony remarked. "You guys are children."

"No kidding," Laynie muttered.

Bruce buried his face in his hands. "Okay, I'm going to resolve this. Carter, you're going to stay with me until you guys can apologize."

"Why do I get kicked out for this? This isn't my fault!" Carter cried.

"Well it's not my fault either!"

"Cool, you'll stay with Pepper and I," Tony said. "We have an empty couch. Go grab some stuff." He stacked the pizza boxes on top of each other. "You guys aren't getting these. I'm gonna go feed them to Clint and Thor."

Once Tony was gone, Bruce looked in between the two girls. "Last chance."

Both girls stood from the couch and walked to their respective bedrooms silently. Bruce sighed and shook his head, then went to wait for the girls near the elevator.

* * *

The next day at school, the girls didn't speak to each other at all. Not at their lockers, not at lunch, not on the way home.

Laynie threw her backpack across Tony's couch and laid across it, sighing. She missed her own apartment, and her laptop in it. But according to Bruce, the girls weren't even allowed back in their apartment for anything until they made up.

And beyond that, things had been tense with her dad since their visit to SHIELD. He was unhappy about what she had to say about Wade, and vice versa.

"Hey Laynie," Pepper said as she entered the apartment. "How was school?"

"Great," she sighed. "Still not talking with Carter. Peter's avoiding me."

"Well your father is down in the lab if you want to go see him." Pepper disappeared into the kitchen, returning to sit beside Laynie with her laptop and a bottle of water.

"Yeah, I'm not really talking to him either. He's angry about Wade. Or about me with Wade? I dunno."

"Well that's not good. Have you tried talking to any of these people?"

"Peter just needs some space," Laynie sighed. "He was hanging out with Gwen today, I guess that's good. Carter's just being stubborn and I don't even know with Dad."

"Well go talk to him," she said as she booted up the laptop. "That's an order."

Laynie smiled a little. "Okay, fine. I'll see you later."

So she took the elevator down to the lab. When she opened the door, his loud music automatically turned off and he shouted in protest from somewhere in the lab. Following the sound of his voice, Laynie picked her way through the lab until she found her dad underneath a car. She nudged the bottom of his foot with hers, and he rolled out from under it.

"Oh, hey Laynie." He grimaced. "You didn't hear that first thing I said, right?"

"Um, no."

"Good. Pepper would kill me. Help me up."

Laynie took his grease-smudged hand and helped hoist him to his feet. He grabbed a rag and wiped off his hands, and then Laynie's hand. He grabbed a car part off the floor and slammed it on his workbench, tinkering with it and seemingly forgetting Laynie was there.

"Dad, are you angry at me?"

He stopped, putting his soldering iron away. "No, I'm not angry at you. Why would I be angry at you?"

She sat on the bench beside him and heaved a sigh. "I dunno. Something with Wade?"

"Yes, I'm angry at Wade. A teenage boy with Cap's strength hurled you and you cracked your head open. I'm angry with him and I probably will be for a while. But not at you."

"What if I were to say... theoretically... that Wade and I were sort of on a date?"

He frowned at his work, but didn't stop. "Well I would be a little disappointed you hadn't told me beforehand, theoretically, and even more upset with Wade."

"What if I said Wade's not to blame."

"I need someone to blame. You ended up in the hospital, for whatever short amount of time, and that makes me angry. And I can't be angry at you about it because it wasn't your fault."

"Well it wasn't Wade fault either. And since he's not here to take offence for himself, I'm taking it for him. Don't be angry at Wade."

He finally put down his tools and leaned on his elbow against his workspace, staring at her. "Okay, then who's to blame?"

"Circumstance. Wrong place at the wrong time. Or James, whichever floats your boat. I'm picking James."

"Cool. Okay, sounds good." He turned away, leaning on both elbows, and stared at his hot rod instead. "Made up with Carter yet?"

She groaned. "No. We haven't spoken at all today. I don't know what to say. And I'm _not_ going to apologize."

"Well scary-Bruce-voice says you aren't getting back into your apartment anytime soon. How many times are you going to wear the same three outfits?"

"Tony," she whined. "Can't you just get me new clothes or something?"

"No, I'm not helping anyone. This is yours and Carter's fight, and Bruce is the one setting the rules."

"But he's not my parent."

Tony snorted. "Yeah, but he's better at it than I am. I'm gonna let him take this one."

Laynie groaned. "Fine, okay. I'll talk to Carter."

"Really?"

"No. Maybe tomorrow at lunch or something."

Tony rolled his eyes and slid back under the car with the modified part. "Good talk. I'll see you later."

"Yeah. Have fun down there."


	30. Chapter 30

Laynie lied. Another day of silence passed, and another, and another, until it had finally lasted a week. And she finally broke.

"No, like this. You're small, but if you can get this stance down you won't have to worry about falling."

Laynie stared at Steve's feet, trying to get hers to hold the same position. Normally it was so _easy_ for her. "Like this?"

"That's much better. Now hold it, and hit the bag."

Laynie tried to hold the stance while she ducked under Steve's punches and hit the ever-moving bag on his left hand. Her feet slipped into a more comfortable position and Steve put a single hand on her chest, pushing her down with no effort.

She hit the mat in a perfect back fall, but didn't get up.

"Laynie? Come on, we're almost done."

She took his hand and got to her feet, trembling all over.

"Laynie? Maybe we should stop for the night."

She shook her head firmly, face set in determination even though her body betrayed her exhaustion. Steve gave her a suspicious sideways glance, but carried on anyway.

"Alright, try again with the stance."

Laynie took up her position, crouching with her hands loose in front of her face, like she'd been taught.

When Steve next tried to push her over, she wobbled, but pushed back. She attacked the hand bags, beating them as hard as she could until tears blurred her vision and she began to miss.

Steve reached out lightning fast and grabbed one of her fists between his bag-covered hands. "Laynie, stop."

She nodded and retreated to the edge of the mat, sitting and trying to stop herself from trembling.

Steve removed the hand bags and sat beside her a second later, giving her a long, concerned stare. "What's got you so distracted?"

Laynie stared at her mat shoes disinterestedly. "Carter." She hesitated. "Wade."

"Oh." He pressed her lips together in thought. "You really liked him."

Laynie took notice that it was a statement, not a question. "I think so. I mean— I still do. It's just that..."

"You can't see him any more."

"No. And he— he's not the same anyways." She shuddered, hugging her knees.

Steve put a hand on her knee, firm and reassuring. "Laynie, you are bigger than this. These things rock your world and you think they'll wipe you out, but they don't. They _can't_. It's like your knuckles." He grabbed Laynie's hands, red from hitting the bag. "This pain won't last forever. Eventually, your knuckles will callous and you'll never feel the pain again. Mourn all you need, but don't let these things defeat you."

Laynie turned her face up to Steve with her eyes full of tears. "But it hurts so much. I used to see him every day and now he's just gone. I haven't spoken with him in a week." Laynie gasped in a breath. "It's— it's like losing my mom all over again, like watching Walter change into a drunk and I can't _do_ anything! Steve, I just want to be able to take control of my life for once!"

"Then take control," Steve said firmly. "Learn. Evolve. Heal. Don't let this consume you. Grieve with all your heart, but do not give in. Things _will_ get better."

Laynie nodded, unable to speak past the lump in her throat. After a moment of hesitation, Steve scooted closer and wrapped his arms around her. "But you don't have to do it alone."

She let out a sob, and another, and another. Steve was silent while she cried, holding her steady.

After a long while of silence, Laynie sniffed and broke out of the hug to wipe away tears. "Thank you for understanding," she muttered. "For being here."

A smile touched his face. "I'm always here for you, Laynie."

* * *

"Why should I apologize? I didn't do anything wrong." Carter huffed in frustration.

It had been a week since Laynie and Carter had fought and there was still no end in sight.

"Carter, I didn't say you were wrong."

Carter sighed. "Yes you did! Why would we apologize otherwise?"

Bruce grinned and came to sit beside his daughter on the couch. "You were wrong to argue. You both probably said nasty things, and I want you to apologize for _those_. Not whatever conflicting opinions you had."

Carter sat for a moment contemplating what Bruce had said, suddenly she said, " _Bruce_ , why didn't you tell me that a week ago? Like c'mon man. You know I'm not that bright."

He laughed. "I thought at least Laynie might figure it out and explain."

"Oh gee, thanks." Carter pouted. "I guess I can go apologize now then."

"I guess you can." Bruce said, amused.

Carter smiled and threw her arms around his neck. "Thanks Bruce."

He wrapped his own arms around her. "You're welcome. Now go make up with your friend." He pushed her toward the door.

Carter knocked on the door of Tony's apartment, patiently waiting for an answer.

"Who is it?" Laynie called from inside.

"It's Carter, can we talk please?" She asked anxiously.

There was a long silence, and then the door opened. Laynie was in her pajamas, wearing the most unamused face she could muster. "Yes?"

Carter took a deep breath. "Look, I just wanted to apologize for anything hurtful I might have said to you during our fight last week. I won't apologize for going to see James, but I'm sorry that we were arguing."

Laynie looked mildly surprised, then let Carter into the apartment. Once they were sitting on the couch, Laynie leaned into Carter and hugged her before she could react. "I'm sorry too, for arguing. I missed you."

"I missed you too." Carter hugged her back. After a few minutes of sitting and hugging, Carter said, "You know, now that we made up… we can go back to our apartment."

Laynie jumped away from Carter, eyes wide. "I'm going to beat you there." She shot off the couch and was down a flight of stairs before Carter could push the elevator button.


	31. Chapter 31

Laynie and Carter slid into the bench at the lunch table, setting their trays down with a clatter. In between the girls, Peter gave a confused look.

"You guys talking again?"

"Yep. Bruce showed us the light," Carter said absently, punching a hole in her juice box.

"Whatcha eating alone for?" Laynie asked. "Where's Gwen?"

Peter sighed, pushing his tray away. "We broke up. She's too busy with school and college applications and interning and I'm too busy with... y'know. I couldn't bring myself to tell her."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Peter." Carter frowned.

Peter shrugged. "It's alright. We both agreed it was for the best. It was better than your break-up at least."

Carter nodded. "I'm pretty sure any break-up would be better than mine." She murmured.

"Sorry," Peter winced.

"Well, that was a heartwarming reunion. Other than breaking up, how have you been?"

"I'm holding up. Aunt May took the news about Wade pretty hard at first, but she's moving on. And it's hard for me because I'm basically lying to her all the time. She thinks they found him a 'permanent home'."

"Well aren't we a bunch of train wrecks," Laynie said with a resigned sigh. "At least we have each other."

"Yes, yes we are." Carter nodded. "But, it'll get better I'm sure."

"Well, aren't you optimistic?" Peter snorted.

Carter rolled her eyes. "Well excuse me for trying to have a positive outlook on life."

Suddenly, a young man slid into the seat across from them. "Hey, do you guys speak English?"

The three teens shared a confused look.

"Yes…?" Laynie answered confused.

"Oh!" He said in shock. "I thought you were like Ukrainian or something?"

Laynie and Carter looked at each other, each barely containing laughter, while Peter stared him down.

"Dude, that's the worst pickup line I've ever heard."

Laynie elbowed Peter.

"I'm Victor. Y'know my dad was from Africa, and he can speak African. He taught me some of it. I can speak African like, two percent of the time. Mostly in my dreams."

Laynie and Carter laughed, hoping it was supposed to be a joke. Peter didn't look any more amused.

"You do know there are over a thousand dialects of African, right?"

"So, are you guys, like, seniors?"

"We're sophomores," Laynie answered.

"Oh, oh that's cool. Yeah, I'm a senior."

"Really, these are just the worst pickup lines ever. Where did you even come from?"

"You got names?" Victor asked, still ignoring Peter.

"Um, I'm Carter."

"And I'm Laynie."

Carter pointed to Peter, "And this stick in the mud is Peter." She grinned at him.

"Nice to meet you guys. So, Carter, you doing anything this weekend?"

Laynie and Carter looked at each other again. Carter turned a little red, looking panicked. Peter's nostrils flared. "Yeah, she's going out with me."

Victor put his hands up, acknowledging Peter for the first time. "Oh man, sorry. I didn't mean to, like, intrude on your turf or anything dude." He stood and waved to the girls. "Yeah, it was nice meeting you guys."

The second he was out of earshot, Laynie and Carter broke down in laughter. Peter deflated and rested his arms on the table, smiling as the girls laughed.

"So Peter, when were you planning on telling me that we were going out this weekend?" Carter giggled.

Peter blushed. "I'm sorry, I was just trying to make him go away."

"Well, I hope you know I at least expect pizza now." Carter teased. "Enough for everyone in Avengers Tower."

Peter groaned, grinning. "Man, I don't have that kinda money. I don't think I could feed Thor alone."

"Oh, that's cool. I'm gonna go grab Victor then."

Laynie put her head in her arms, laughing so hard she couldn't breathe.

"Fine, fine. I'll get the pizza." Peter shook his head. "Just don't talk to Victor anymore. The weirdo."

"Seriously though," Laynie said through giggles. "Why would he think we're Ukrainian? In a New York school?"

"Lord, only knows." Carter laughed. "I guess it was just some odd pickup line."

"Pf, weirdo," Peter muttered. "Really though, we should do something this weekend. We haven't hung out since camping."

"That seems so long ago," Laynie sighed. "We _should_ do something this weekend."

He glanced down at his watch. "Yeah, I'll text you after school. I gotta get to class. Stay safe, avoid Victor."

* * *

Saturday night, Laynie answered her apartment door to Peter, backpack slung over his shoulder.

"Yeah, just let me know if anything changes I guess. Thanks." She hung up the phone and smiled at Peter. It didn't reach her eyes completely, looking worn around the edges. "Hi, come on in. I think Carter's finishing up her homework."

She threw her phone on the couch. Peter's backpack followed, and then they sat.

"Fury's probably ready to kill us."

Laynie laughed. "Probably, if we're both checking on Wade all the time. I just don't see why we can't be around him at all. Not even send him letters or anything. Is being cut off from us really beneficial to healing?" She shrugged at her own question, sighing.

"I'm just hoping we get to see him again some day." Peter sighed also.

Carter emerged from her room. "Sorry about that, Bruce would've killed me if I hadn't finished my homework." She smiled and plopped down on the couch next to Peter.

"No problem." Peter nodded.

"So, what're we talking about?" Carter asked curiously.

"Wade." Laynie answered with a slight frown.

"Ah," Carter nodded slowly. "How's he doing?"

"About the same, I guess. Fury's not the best at giving straight answers."

"He told me Wade's been out of it, for the most part," Peter added.

"Even if his condition changed, I'm not so sure Fury would tell us." Carter sighed.

"Probably not," Laynie sighed. "He wouldn't want us doing anything."

"What are we gonna do? Stage a full jailbreak?"

Peter and Laynie looked to Carter with raised eyebrows.

"Guys," Carter started to shake her head, "Guys, no. I didn't mean that seriously."

They both started to grin.

"Do you know how much trouble we'd get into?" Carter asked, starting to panic. "Like Bruce and Tony will kill us. _Literally._ "

Peter and Laynie looked at each other. "You know where he is, don't you?"

"I was there the night of the formal."

"I can hack into the security system. Carter, we'll need you."

"Why would I go with you?" She looked at them incredulously. "Do I look like I want a death wish?"

"Because you love Wade! And we'll need the moral support. And a distraction."

" _Guys,_ we can't. We will die, if not by our parents' hands then by Fury's."

"I think it'll be worth it. Peter?"

"I'm in."

"See? We need you. No spy team is complete without the third member."

Carter groaned. "Fine! But, when our parents find out, because they will, I'm telling Bruce that you guys kidnapped me."

Laynie laughed. "Sure, whatever. We'll have to stay here until most everyone is asleep. JARVIS, go ahead and take the night off buddy."

"Yes, Miss Stark. Enjoy your evening."

She grinned. "We will."

Four hours later, the three teens had donned black clothing and sneakily made their way to the SHIELD facility in New York. Getting past the gate was easy, with Spider-Man on their side. The girls got to see a glimpse of Peter's powers as he scaled the fence in the blink of an eye, and hoisted the girls up with webbing afterward. Getting past the patrolling guards was a little harder, but they managed. At the doors, Laynie had Peter pull the key-card system out of the wall. She pulled out a single wire and snipped it, attaching it to her tablet. She gave it to Carter to hold while she typed furiously and Peter stayed on the lookout.

"Laynie, where did you even learn how to do this?"

"Well I originally wanted to hack into my mom's laptop. You remember that mission they wouldn't tell us about but they thought it was absolutely _hilarious_?"

"Um, yeah."

"It wasn't that funny. After that I took an online class over the summer and when Tony found out I was a hacker he just _lost it_. You shoulda been there." She paused for a moment, sticking her tongue out while she concentrated. "Anyway, he helped me hack SHIELD for the heck of it a few months ago. Since then I've done it on my own a few times and I only got caught once."

"Hm, I think I'm going to put a better password on my computer."

Laynie laughed. "Nah, I would never hack you, Carter. I should show you how sometime." She typed one last thing in, then threw her arms up. "Yes! Okay, we're in. C'mon Peter." She took the tablet from Carter and shoved it in her shoulder bag, running in the door.

"Did you look up where Wade is?"  
"I couldn't access it from outside, we're going to have to find another terminal."

Peter groaned. "Great. Okay, find another terminal then."

"Ooh, this way," Carter called, pointing down a hallway.

They took a sharp turn, following Carter. Laynie plugged her tablet into the terminal and it skipped the password screen. She opened the patient registry and scrolled down to the Ws, where Wade's was one of the first names.

She yanked the cord out of the terminal and jogged toward the section Wade would be in. When they got there, Laynie repeated her stunt with the card reader at the door.

The door opened on Wade, pacing a worn path in the carpeted floor. He didn't notice them until they had closed the door again, and it clicked. He jumped at the small sound, and turned on his heel.

His mouth hung open for a second as he stared at them. Finally, Laynie took a few steps closer.

"Wade?"

"Laynie," he breathed. "You... You're actually here, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah. We, um, we kinda broke in."

A grin broke out across his face, and he rushed them. He hugged Laynie first, and yanked Peter in second. Carter stepped out of the way, not wanting to get squished into the group hug.

"You guys are the best. You didn't get caught, right?"

"Nope, the security was surprisingly minimal."

He took a few steps back, sitting on his bed. "That's because everyone in here is completely insane. I'm one of the only people stable enough to escape."

Peter sat on the floor near the bed, leaning against one of the white walls. "I take it you're speaking from experience?"

"Pff, me? Nah."

Laynie leaned across the bed, examining a small picture taped to the wall. It was one the four had taken after school one day, while they sat on the steps waiting for Laynie and Carter's ride. "So is Fury lying, or are you doing okay?"

Wade's smile faltered for a half a second. "Let's not talk about that. How are you guys doing? How's Gwen?"

"We split up," Peter said offhandedly. "We were too busy for a real relationship to work."

"Oh," Wade said, a little disappointed. "And how's James doing?"

"Back in school," Carter answered. "Not without some nasty bruises, still."

Wade ducked his head, avoiding eye contact with Carter. "You know I'm sorry about that, right?"

Carter sighed, "I know you are. And I'll be the first to admit I was a little angry with you at first, but I do forgive you. And I wanted to thank you for protecting me when he took a swing at me. I do appreciate that. I'm thankful that I have you for a friend." She smiled.

"Aw, Carter. Stop it." Wade blushed and yanked her into a hug.

She giggled. "Love you too, Wade."

Wade released her and gave a contented sigh, looking between his friends. "You know the only thing I miss more than you guys?"

Laynie scoffed. "Absolutely nothing."

"Mexican food," he whined. "I need a taco so bad."

"We're fresh out of tacos," Peter replied, faking a mournful pout. "We'll be sure to bring some next time."

"At least tell me something happy! Gosh, you guys are so depressing."

The three looked between each other.

"Well, there was Victor," Laynie said.

"Oh gees, Victor." Carter shook her head in amusement. "So, Laynie, Peter, and I were sitting at lunch together like we normally would, right? And then suddenly, this guy shows up and he's like 'so, you guys speak English?' And Laynie and I are just so confused."

"He seriously had the worst pickup lines ever." Peter cut in. "Like the worst."

"Anyway, we told him we spoke English and he was honestly just so surprised. Next thing we know, he's saying how he thought we were Ukrainian or something." Carter laughed. "Like he's was the weirdest guy I had ever met. Weirder than you even."

Even though Wade was already laughing, Laynie continued. "So he goes on to talk about how he speaks African, but only two percent of the time. In his dreams. And _then_ he just up and asks Carter out."

"Oh my gosh," Wade said through his laughs. "What did you say?"

"I told him she was going out with me."

Wade laughed even harder. "Peter, you're such a player! First Gwen, now Carter."

Both of them turned a little red while Wade tried to pull himself together,

"You have no idea how much I miss you guys. The doctors are all like 'you need to have a stable mood before you can interact with the other patients' and then they're like 'but stay in this stupid white room all alone all day and don't go crazy'. Like, I'd love to lock them in here for a day and see how _they_ feel."

The group fell silent. "Sorry Wade," Laynie said quietly. "I wish there was a way to convince Fury this isn't a good idea."

"It's not even Fury," he said with a sigh. "I guess there's no reason not to tell you guys anymore. Higher-ups had plans to train me to be an assassin. Apparently they're lacking. They didn't really expect me to lose my mind I guess."

"Wait, is that why you're here?"

"I'm here because I'm dangerous. Laynie, you saw what I did to James. And you. I have no control over myself sometimes."

"But you will get better," she said firmly.

"Right." Wade sounded less sure.

The four of them lost track of time talking. Before they knew it, Peter was half-asleep on the floor and the sun was rising outside.

"Oh man, we're going to get caught by our parents for sure," Laynie sighed, looking at the time on her phone. "We have to go. Peter, come on." While Peter shook himself awake, Laynie hugged Wade. "Maybe we'll do this again, if our parents don't ground us until the end of time."

"Okay. Thanks for coming, guys." As the door swung shut, Wade called for them to wait. He stood just inside the door and said to Laynie quietly, "Can you leave the door unlocked? I just… I'll sleep better not feeling trapped."

Laynie hesitated. "Wade, I…" She sighed, looking at his face. "Okay, yeah. Bye."

The door shut all the way, and Peter reached for the card unit. Laynie grabbed his hand.

"They lock automatically," she lied.

Peter nodded, and they crept out of the facility as easily as they had crept in. Creeping into the tower, however, was another matter.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Lartovio: Hi guys! So sorry updates have been sporadic. I'd swear we'll be better in the future, but honestly, until FF makes a feature for scheduled updates, I can make no such promises. Thank you for all reviews past and present. Have a happy holiday, all! Stay safe this season, avoid Victors, don't break into mental hospitals!


	32. Chapter 32

Laynie woke up at sunset, and didn't leave her room. She could hear Pepper and Tony talking outside, and she just couldn't bear to face them.

Once night had fallen, Pepper knocked on the door and came in a second later, not waiting for an answer. "Laynie? We would like to talk to you."

Laynie nodded and silently followed Pepper to the living room, where she sat in an armchair and pulled her knees up to her chest.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you," Tony started. She nodded, and he carried on. "They haven't found Wade yet. The last time he escaped, he apparently got take-out and came back. This time, he left a cold trail. They have teams of agents and police state-wide looking for him, but there's been nothing yet."

Laynie looked out at the city, vainly hoping she'd see Wade. "They won't find him unless he wants to be found."

"Or he loses control and leaves a body in an alley."

"Tony," Pepper admonished quietly.

Laynie sighed and stood up. "If that's all, I'm going back to sleep. It's been… a day."

She and Tony stared each other down for a moment, as if having a silent battle of wills. Finally, Tony nodded, waving her away.

"Tell me if there are any developments. Please."

"Yeah, sure. One more thing Laynie."

She stopped in her doorway, turning around.

"You're grounded for two weeks. Nothing but school, okay?"

"What about the rest of my Christmas shopping?" she asked, voice cracking under the weight of her pent-up tears.

"Order stuff online," Tony replied indifferently. "Don't get anything for all I care."

"Cool. Thanks Tony."

After school the next day, Laynie retreated to her room and wasn't heard from for hours. At around nine, Carter got worried and went downstairs to find Tony. He was in the living room, talking strategy with Steve and Clint. Thor was present, but not understand half the terms they used.

"Come on Tony, she's been really off today."

"I'm sorry Carter," Tony said, not sorry at all, "but Laynie doesn't want to see me right now. In fact, I'm probably the last person she wants to see. She'll bounce back eventually."

Carter huffed, standing by the door and watching Tony for a while longer. When she turned away to go back upstairs, Thor followed her.

"What ails Laynie?" he asked.

The elevator opened and Carter, ushered ahead by Thor, stepped in first. "Well you must have heard Wade escaped from the mental facility."

"Aye."

"Well, Laynie accidentally helped him escape. She and Tony fought pretty bad, and I don't know if she's been this much of a wreck since… since our parents."

Thor nodded, completely understanding. "I will talk to her, if you think that will help."

She smiled. "It's worth a shot. She's in her room."

Thor made a detour to the kitchen before knocking on Laynie's door, calling, "It is I, Thor! I come bringing an offering of peace."

Laynie called for him to come in. When he proceeded, shutting the door softly behind him, he found the room empty.

"I'm back here!" Laynie called.

Thor carried on and found Laynie in the bathroom at the far end of her room, sitting in the spacious bathtub with her laptop, cell phone, and an empty pint of raspberry sorbet.

"Ah," he said, sitting beside the tub. "I should have guessed you would seek refuge here."

She smiled, taking the package of cookies he offered. "Yeah, it's nice and quiet back here. I guess it's cause I don't spend so much time in the bathroom or what, but it feels like I'm in a different world in here."

"Yes, I can understand why you might think that. When I was a boy, I would go to my mother's dressing chamber when I was upset. I suppose the way her smell hung in the air comforted me, even when she couldn't."

Laynie put away her laptop, resting her arms and chin on the side of the tub to look at Thor. "I miss my mom."

"Aye, as do I, little one. But we must remain strong."

Her smile turned grim. "Right. I'm doing a terrible job at that."

"I learnt the first time I came to this realm that to be strong is not to deny or cover up weakness or emotion. To be strong is to simply take things as they come to you, and have the courage to carry on anyway."

"Dang it, Thor, why are you always so full of wisdom? You realize it's actually _impossible_ to be depressed around you?"

He grinned. "That is a better compliment than I have received in many years. Thank you, Laynie."

"Now if only you could find Wade."

"The elder Stark has JARVIS, ah, how did he phrase it… JARVIS is assimilating a list of routes Wade may have taken, based on the personality data he gathered from his time spent in the tower."

Laynie stopped, thinking. Was Tony doing that to get Wade off the streets, or was he doing it for Laynie? Either way, she appreciated the efforts. "He yelled at me."

"Did he apologize?"

"I deserved it. That's the worst part. I've been yelled at before but I've never done anything to deserve it. This time, I should have expected it."

"Do not be harsh on yourself, Laynie. Do not bury yourself so deeply in guilt and rage that you lose sight of your goals."

"What are those?"

He smiled again. "Only you know. Well, we Avengers have a full day ahead of us tomorrow. I best be off to my own apartment." He grunted as he stood and offered to take Laynie's empty container.

"Thank you, Thor. I think they should have called you the god of wisdom."

"Oh, I think you flatter me too much, little one. Rest well!"


	33. Chapter 33

"I'm sorry, I have no idea where Peter is." Carter told Aunt May. "You haven't seen him since yesterday?!" She questioned.

Laynie listened in concern to Carter's conversation with Aunt May.

"Why don't I see if I can get a hold of him or maybe find him?" Carter said, trying to calm the woman. "Then I'll call you back if I hear from him, okay?"

After a few more minutes of reassuring the hysterical woman that her nephew was most likely just fine, Carter finally hung up.

"Aunt May says she hasn't seen Peter since yesterday." She told Laynie. "I thought that maybe you could try to get in contact with him while I go out and look for him." Carter was already searching for her shoes in the cluttered apartment.

"Why don't I go with you?" Laynie asked, wanting nothing more than to help in the search for Peter.

Carter sighed, "Because you're grounded, remember?"

She groaned. "Yes, grounded, fine. I'll stay here."

While Carter continued to search for shoes in her room, Laynie grabbed her laptop and searched a few social media sites for signs of Spider-Man. By the time Carter had found shoes and a coat, Laynie was standing ready at the door.

"Laynie-"

"Nope. I'm worried about Peter. There have been non-stop mentions of him in small news stations and social media. I think he might have been out as Spidey for more than a full day."

Carter threw her head back in exasperation. "Laynie, you're _grounded._ I'll go look for Peter, you don't need to get in any more trouble with Tony and Pepper."

"Come on Carter, you know we'll get more done together. Besides, we might never get caught. They're halfway around the world."

"Not Pepper."

"Pepper is in a board meeting," Laynie said matter-of-factly. "She'll probably be there all day. Let's go."

Carter huffed. "Fine." She stomped into the elevator with Laynie behind her. "You know, I'm usually the rebellious one, not you." Looking at Laynie with a frown, she said, "How have you dealt with me all these years?"

Laynie laughed. "Lots of patience."

It was snowing lightly outside, and the flurries of white made New York City's Christmas Eve foot traffic even harder to navigate. Laynie called Peter's cell repeatedly while they walked, but he never picked up.

After an hour of looking out in the bitter cold with no progress made, Laynie and Carter were about ready to give up.

"I would give anything for a spin around the city _above_ the crowds. It would be a lot easier than trying to walk through this junk while constantly looking up."

"But we both know that's not going to happen," Carter sighed. "What got into him, you think? It's unlike Peter to do something like this."

"I don't know. We haven't really talked to him since..." Laynie rammed her gloved palm against her head. "He's looking for Wade."

"Are you sure?"

"Mostly, yeah. That means he probably started at the SHIELD facility and went from there. How far could he have gotten in twenty four hours?" Laynie stopped on the sidewalk, trying to piece together variables and patterns Peter might have used to sweep for Wade. The crowd parted like water around them. "Assuming he went toward the city in a half-circle pattern, he could be anywhere from here to Queens by now. Do you know any places he'd be likely to hang out or rest?"

Carter thought hard. "Gwen is at Oscorp?"

"Too far uptown."

"The Bugle. He's been doing some work for them, getting some extra credit."

Laynie nodded slowly. "It's a start. Let's head that way."

The girls took a short subway ride and came up in a less busy district of the city, staring at the towering Daily Bugle corporate building.

"How are we going to get up there to check for him?"

Laynie shook her head. "We're not." She jogged across the street, stood on the edge of the sidewalk, and shouted Peter's name.

Carter's mouth flopped open. Walking over to her friend, she smacked her over the head. "Are you insane? What's wrong with you?!"

"How else are we going to get him to respond? If he's up there-" Laynie stopped as there as she felt something hit her back through her coat and there was a soft _thwip!_ sound.

Before they knew it, both girls were being pulled up by a thin line on the back of their coat. They only freaked out once they were hauled over the edge of the roof, on solid ground again.

Laynie rolled on her back, trying to control her panicked breathing. When she looked up, Spider-Man was standing over them with his arms crossed.

"On a scale of one to ten, I give you a four. For being _totally dense_."

She sat up slowly, scooting away from the edge of the roof. "You could have killed us!"

He perched on the ledge, as if trying to freak them out. "If those webs can hold me while I swing across the city, you're fine. You guys weigh, what, ninety pounds?"

"One hundred!" Laynie cried. "On a good day..."

"What are you thinking?" Carter asked. "Aunt May is worried sick about you! Is your phone even on?"

He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, yeah. I've been using it."

Walking over to Peter, Carter started whacking him with her purse. "Do you know how worried we've been about you? We've called you so many times and you never answered! And how could you do this to your Aunt?!"

"Ah, stop that!" He shouted, shielding himself from her bag.

"I just can't believe you!" Carter huffed. "What have you been doing that you can't at least call someone to let them know you're alright?"

"I'm looking for Wade! We have no clue what kind of mental state he's in and he's been missing for a week! I want to find him, even if he does get sent back, before they end up pulling him out of a river or something!" Peter pulled his mask off and walked toward the opposite side of the roof, stopping suddenly and turning back. "I'm really worried about him."

"Well we were worried about you, Peter," Carter said more gently. "And honestly I still am. You look like crap."

He scoffed, and they could see tears welling up in his eyes. "Thanks Carter."

"Just call your Aunt."

"And tell her what?"

"Make something up! You're the one that got yourself in this mess in the first place." Carter crossed her arms over her chest. "She needs to know that you're okay."

Peter sighed, "Alright, I get it. I'll call her."

"Thank you." Carter answered, with a nod of approval.

"Wow," Laynie muttered next to Carter, "good job."

Carter grinned proudly. "I like to think I'm pretty good at guilt tripping people."

Laynie and Carter both turned in a panic as they heard a familiar sound, and then voice behind them.

"Have I ever mentioned JARVIS is a total tell-all?" Tony flipped his faceplate up, and the face underneath it was not a happy one. He looked over to Peter, who was maskless and frozen like a deer in the headlights. "Go home," he said. "If you go anywhere else for even a second, I will know, and I will send an Avenger to _escort_ you home. Understood?"

He nodded numbly, fumbling to pull his mask on.

Laynie shrank away a little when Tony turned his attention back toward her.

"I expected more out of you, Laynie."

He brought the girls down from the roof one at a time, Laynie first. Once they were in the waiting car, he stepped out of the suit and waited for it to collapse itself before tossing it in the trunk.

In the back seat, he stared them down for a while. "They found Wade. About an hour ago, near the Potomac river."

Laynie's eyes about popped out of her head. "In Virginia? How did he get there?"

"He either won't tell or doesn't know. I hear he was pretty confused. But Fury wants you to have a last chance to see him, because he made it very clear this _will_ be your last chance. This will be the last thing you see outside of school for a long time," he said to Laynie.

The car passed Avengers Tower and went straight down the familiar route to the SHIELD facility. Carter and Laynie were guided back to Wade's cell, and let in with the promise of ten minutes to make their goodbyes.

But Wade wasn't there. Physically, his body was sitting on his bed, shoulders hunched, face scratched and dirty. But mentally, he was completely absent.

Laynie knelt in front of him and looked up. Under all the dirt, she could see his freckles still, but she could tell his skin had paled over the weeks spent indoors. The skin around his eyes was red around the very edges, and dark everywhere else.

"Wade?"

His only response was to purposefully break eye contact.

"Wade, I don't know... I'm sorry. I—" Laynie choked on her words, hugging her unresponsive friend. She left the room in tears. "What's going to happen to him?" she asked the agent at the door.

"He'll be trained," he answered gruffly. "If he can't pull through, he'll spend the rest of his life in here."

Laynie wanted to protest, but she knew her arguments would mean nothing. SHIELD had decided his fate, and if he had no say in it, then she certainly didn't.


	34. Chapter 34

Twas the night before Christmas, and Laynie was on the stairs, crying.

After receiving her extra week of being grounded, Tony had sent her up to her room. But she didn't want to bring down any Christmas spirit Carter might have had leftover, so she sat on the staircase outside her apartment for hours.

Near eleven, she went down to the landing and sat against the wall, texting Peter to make sure he'd known what happened. He was angry beyond words at being denied a last goodbye to Wade, but Laynie assured him it wasn't worth being angry over. Wade wasn't _really_ there anyway.

Laynie jolted awake when the elevator let out a cheery _ding!_ and Tony stepped out of the elevator just above her. He knocked on the door, and she considered letting him knock all night if he wanted to. Instead, she decided to be the bigger person and said, "I'm down here."

He turned around, and sighed when he saw her. "I told you to go to your room, you know." He sat down beside her with a little groan. There were two thin bandages across a cut on his forehead, and he'd obviously pulled a muscle in his back. She wished he hadn't had to go right before Christmas.

"I didn't want to disturb Carter."

He leaned forward and examined her face, then leaned into the wall again. "I wish you hadn't gone out today, but I understand why you did. I get myself, have always in the past, gotten myself into tight corners through lying and disobeying orders. I just don't want that for you."

"I understand. I know what I've done is wrong."

"Yeah, and it scares me how ridiculously indifferent you are. It makes me glad I'm your parent instead of a bad guy, otherwise I'd fear for my life."

Laynie smiled a little. "Natasha taught me well."

"Yeah, too well. I'm gonna have a talk with that woman."

They fell silent for a while.

"I don't want to be mad at you on Christmas," Laynie sighed. "Can we pretend I didn't do anything wrong just for tomorrow? Then you can yell at me as much as you want."

He snickered. "Sounds like a deal. I really don't want to be mad at you either. And in the interest of peace on earth and all that stuff, I won't mention how Peter's Spider-Man."

"That would be nice."

"But we _will_ be talking about that."

Laynie leaned against her dad's shoulder with a sigh. "Of course. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, brat."

* * *

"So, today was fun." Carter sighed.

Bruce chuckled. "Oh, I'm sure it was. You two always seem to be in some trouble at one point or another."

"To be fair, it's been like this with Laynie and I since we were little, though usually I was the one talking her into doing something stupid." Carter shrugged.

He groaned. "I'm not sure I like it the other way around. It's Costco rafters versus jailbreak."

"Yeah, but at least the trip to the rafters wasn't illegal." Carter pointed out.

"But you did get shot at and Laynie fell from at least twenty feet off the ground." Bruce answered. "Your little excursion in Costco was no better than the jailbreak."

Carter rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah."

"So," he said slowly "what do you want for Christmas?"

"At this point, I'd be happy just sleeping all day. Like these past few weeks have been crazy." Carter joked.

"I'm being serious, Carter."

"I don't know. Gift cards, clothes. A car maybe." Carter shrugged. "You get me something, I'll act happy and all will go back to normal."

"That's... not the answer I was hoping for."

Carter groaned and fell back onto the couch next to Bruce, "Honestly, I'm just happy I'm not in a foster home for Christmas this year." She admitted.

Bruce nodded, combing his fingers through Carter's hair. "That's definitely a good thing. I'm glad we're getting along now."

Carter hummed in agreement. "Give it a couple of days."

He laughed. "Okay, in that case, what I want for Christmas is for you to get along with both me and Laynie tomorrow. Do you think you can handle that?"

"Well, I'm sure Laynie and I can handle ourselves, but you? I don't know man. That might be asking too much of me."

"You're right, that is a pretty tall order. I'll make an exception for any time before noon."

"Before noon?" she asked, disgusted.

"Oh come on, I fully expect Laynie to be up at eight."

"Oh, I'm sorry. You're right. I'll make sure to come wake you up at six."

He was silent for a moment, unsure of whether or not she was joking. "Please don't. I changed my mind, I wish for you to definitely not do that."

"Too late, I've made up my mind. You're screwed. Y'know, my dad used to wake me up at _dawn_ dressed as Santa. Top that."

"Even last year?"

"You can't even begin to comprehend my dad's love of Christmas. It only got worse as the years went on. Sometimes I wondered whether or not he'd just dye his hair white and grow a beard."

Bruce's eyebrows raised. "Yeah, you're right. I can never top that level of devotion."

Carter snuggled in closer to him. "That's okay. You're a pretty good dad so far."

He smiled gently. "I can deal with that." He wrapped his arms tight around her. "You're a pretty awesome kid, you know that?"

"Yeah, I know." Carter yawned.

"So you also know that you're a pain the other fifty percent of the time?"

"Well, that was rude," she mumbled.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Bruce was waiting for a snarky comeback, but it never came. He looked down and saw that she had fallen asleep on top of him again.

He brushed the hair away from her face with a smile. "What am I going to do with you?"


	35. Chapter 35

"Let's hope Victor doesn't show up again," Carter laughed.

The first day back to school after Christmas was hard, seeing all the places Wade should be and seeing James in all the places he was unwelcome. But they all ignored it as well as they could, and Peter, Laynie and Carter ended up having as good a time at the lunch table as they ever had.

Carter sat beside Peter, laughing hysterically at the recollection of their encounter with Victor. Laynie sat alone across from them, laughing along, but missing Wade.

"Hey guys! It took me forever to find you."

Laynie stopped and turned as Kate Bishop slid into the seat beside her with a brown paper bag. "Kate!" She gave the girl a hug, startled. "What are you doing here?"

"Well after the mafia incident, Clint talked with my dad and convinced him to get me transferred here. Something about Spider-Man attending the school." She gave Peter a coy smile. "It's my first day!"

"That's great!" Carter cried. "We're going to have so much fun."

"Yeah!" Kate began pulling her lunch out of the bag. "So where's Wade?" The table fell silent, and Kate looked around at each of them. "Oh no, I said something wrong."

"No, no," Peter said. "You didn't. It's a long story, but Wade... had to leave."

"We'll explain some other time," Laynie added. "For now, tell me all the classes you're in."

As Kate started scarfing her lunch, she listed classes through bites of her sandwich.

Halfway through Kate's class list, there was a massive crash heard outside at the courtyard of the school.

"What was that?" Carter asked worriedly.

The four teens shared a curious look before running to the courtyard. They pushed through students and faculty quickly. They certainly weren't expecting what they found when they got to the courtyard.

A strange object, that could only be described as a spaceship, was lying in the middle of the courtyard.

"So, as if our lives weren't messed up enough, now we get spaceships crashing into our school. Great, just great." Carter huffed, more irritated than concerned.

"Stay back, guys," Peter warned, holding his arm out as he approached it slowly.

Carter and Laynie ignored him completely, following as they neared the edge of the crowd around the ship. They all three jumped back as it let out a loud hissing, and the top of it popped open. A silver-haired head popped out, examining his surroundings.

"Hello," he said slowly. "I come in peace! I am Noh-Varr. What planet is this?"

THE END

 _ **Author's notes:**_

 _ **Lartovio:**_ _Hi guys! Sorry it took so long to get around to doing this. This last chapter was supposed to be posted a few weeks ago but y'know, real life. It happens sometimes. But anyway! I hope you enjoyed the story! I was really happy with how this one turned out, and I'm even more excited for what's to come. We'll be introducing some new things in the next arc (as indicated by our favorite silver-haired alien here), and after that, we'll be covering some recent MCU events to keep us more or less up-to-date with it. So, thank you guys for sticking with us this far. I hope you continue to read and enjoy the LWTA series in the future!_

 _ **Dawn:** Hey! So, we're awful. But, you know how life is. Work and school and such. I hope you enjoyed this story. We really enjoyed writing if for you. Thank ya'll so much for continuing to read and review our story. Again I hoped you enjoyed the story and we'll hopefully be posting the next arc soon. :)_


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